Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[VeeHam]

We are currently here now. I found everyone’s reports so helpful so I wanted to post our experience.
We arrived yesterday at Pop. Room was ready at 2:30 and we received a text. No issues getting into the room. Room looked clean but I did wipe everything down with Lysol. We had a 6:10 ressie at Sanaa. Checked in about 30 minutes early and were seated right away. Food was incredible. That bread (naan) plate and dipping sauces was amazing. Services was great as well.

Today 11/23 we went to DHS. We woke up a few minutes to 7 and my DH was able to score BG 22. I was very excited. We all 4 tried. We have apple XR and 11’s. I was not on WiFi but he was.
We had a Lyft driver take us to the Speedway by DHS and walked over. It was very quick. We were about 30 people back in our line for the temp check. They started checking temps at 9:11 AM. We quickly walked to MMRR and walked into the ride. It was very cute.
We then walked onto alien swirling saucers and onto TSM.We then decided to stop at Ronto Roasters for breakfast at 10:25. We all had the oatmeal and most enjoyed it. We ordered the food and it was ready within 2-3 minutes.
We saw Rei and Chewy and then our BG was called. We enjoyed ROR. Then we road Star Tours. DH got a little sick on ST so we sat down outside Brown Derby and rested. Our lunch ressie at Brown Derby wasn’t until 1:10 but I walked up to the booth and asked if I could check in early and they said yes. We checked in about 30 minutes early and were called within 5 minutes. Food was good. Then we took the sky liner back to Pop and napped for an hour or two.
We then headed back to DHS about 4:30. We got in line for Smugglers Run. It was listed as 50 minutes but waited about 25. Ride was fun. We rode alien saucers again and the kids decided they were hungry and wanted to go back to Pop. We walked around looking at the beautiful Christmas lights and took pictures. Saw a calvacade as we were leaving.
We ordered from Pop food court on the way back. It took about 15 minutes to get it.
The crowds were moderately heavy today. Some places were very crowded and distancing wasn’t possible. Tomorrow we go to DAK. I’ll update tomorrow with how it went. Happy to answer any questions.

 

[ambula603]

I've decided rope drop is the new fast pass. If you do that, you might get to ride 2 or 3 rides with manageable waits. Otherwise, you are in for a long haul. We don't hate it (most are constantly moving and I like seeing queues I've never seen) but it has been a mental adjustment! We have left mid-day to go back to the resort (some days we return, others we haven't) and that has helped!

That being said, we have enjoyed EVERY meal we have had in and out of the parks. Felt safe and distanced and the food tastes better when we are able to sit for a bit without a mask!

Back to Epcot today for us! Thus far it has been a great trip, despite all the things that are different. We love being in the Disney Bubble!

 

[Marc A.]

We are currently here now. I found everyone’s reports so helpful so I wanted to post our experience.
We arrived yesterday at Pop. Room was ready at 2:30 and we received a text. No issues getting into the room. Room looked clean but I did wipe everything down with Lysol. We had a 6:10 ressie at Sanaa. Checked in about 30 minutes early and were seated right away. Food was incredible. That bread (naan) plate and dipping sauces was amazing. Services was great as well.

Today 11/23 we went to DHS. We woke up a few minutes to 7 and my DH was able to score BG 22. I was very excited. We all 4 tried. We have apple XR and 11’s. I was not on WiFi but he was.
We had a Lyft driver take us to the Speedway by DHS and walked over. It was very quick. We were about 30 people back in our line for the temp check. They started checking temps at 9:11 AM. We quickly walked to MMRR and walked into the ride. It was very cute.
We then walked onto alien swirling saucers and onto TSM.We then decided to stop at Ronto Roasters for breakfast at 10:25. We all had the oatmeal and most enjoyed it. We ordered the food and it was ready within 2-3 minutes.
We saw Rei and Chewy and then our BG was called. We enjoyed ROR. Then we road Star Tours. DH got a little sick on ST so we sat down outside Brown Derby and rested. Our lunch ressie at Brown Derby wasn’t until 1:10 but I walked up to the booth and asked if I could check in early and they said yes. We checked in about 30 minutes early and were called within 5 minutes. Food was good. Then we took the sky liner back to Pop and napped for an hour or two.
We then headed back to DHS about 4:30. We got in line for Smugglers Run. It was listed as 50 minutes but waited about 25. Ride was fun. We rode alien saucers again and the kids decided they were hungry and wanted to go back to Pop. We walked around looking at the beautiful Christmas lights and took pictures. Saw a calvacade as we were leaving.
We ordered from Pop food court on the way back. It took about 15 minutes to get it.
The crowds were moderately heavy today. Some places were very crowded and distancing wasn’t possible. Tomorrow we go to DAK. I’ll update tomorrow with how it went. Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks for the report. Curious, how crowded, spread out was Sanaa?

 

[ejdmomma]

We had a Lyft driver take us to the Speedway by DHS and walked over. It was very quick. We were about 30 people back in our line for the temp check. They started checking temps at 9:11 AM.

What time did you have the lyft pick you up from Pop?

 

[3DisMunchkins]

We had a Lyft driver take us to the Speedway by DHS and walked over. It was very quick. We were about 30 people back in our line for the temp check. They started checking temps at 9:11 AM.

Is using an Uber/Lyft to the Speedway better than bus or skyliner? I'm reading that buses don't start until 45min prior to opening...seems like that might make rope drop difficult??

 

[HikingFam]

We did HS today, and I vastly prefer the new BG process. It was really nice to know what BG we had before trekking to the park. We were 18 so made sure to be there before open. After we finished ROTR, we thought we’d take the Skyliner to an early lunch at Riviera. What we didn’t think about was the Epcot opening time of 11. When we arrived at the CB station at 11:15, the line was still snaked all the way around the station. We ended up walking to Riviera rather than stand out in the sun in line, but it’s a bummer that the Skyliner backs up like that.

We had early dinner in Disney Springs tonight- yikes. Much worse than September in terms of crowds and, especially, non-maskers. Boathouse had tons of empty tables and was delightful, but we weren’t able to do anything after that because every place we tried to go had a long line to get in (even at 5:00- WOD, Erin McKenna’s, Ghirardelli). It felt a bit like mass chaos with lines snaking everywhere and people trying to cut (both knowingly and unknowingly). It’s a shame, because DS is usually a highlight for us. Oh also, the snow was a hit with my kids, but people were really crowding in that area, so kind of an odd time to be doing it.

 

[AllieBoo]

Is using an Uber/Lyft to the Speedway better than bus or skyliner? I'm reading that buses don't start until 45min prior to opening...seems like that might make rope drop difficult??

Yes, it is. Ideally, you want to be there about an hour before park open, since they have been letting people in about 45 min before official opening.

 

[WendiDarling]

We are here now. Have done 2 HS days. Friday Nov 20th we mobile ordered Boardwalk Bakery and walked over. Lovely. We were there by 8:15am and hung out in line (second in line) and ate our breakfast and enjoyed the morning. Today we bussed over from OKW. Not as lovely. Not terrible, but definitely not the start to the day we wanted. Bus came at exactly 9am. We stopped at one stop before the bus was full (but that was good for us so we could go straight to DHS at that point - OKW bus stops are numerous...)

We got BG 5 on Friday, BG 23 today. Party of 9. Had at least 3-5 people trying at 7am. One day we got it on a iphone 11. Another day on a XR. Having multiple people trying is key!

We did Thurs 19th - MK
Fri 20th - DHS
Sat 21st - AK
Sun 22 - EP
Mon 23 - MK
Tues 24 - DHS

Tomorrow is AK, then home on Thursday. The first 3 days were great crowds, but I feel the Thanksgiving crowds hit on Sunday at Epcot. But if you adjust your expectations that lines are just inevitable right now, it's not too bad. Social distancing is hit and miss. We had terrible distancing at Dinosaur Saturday and Slinky Dog today. If you don't want people closer than 6 feet away, it's really not the time to come to Disney, imho. There are going to be times when you are closer to people than you may be comfortable with.

 

[jmoak]

Hello, we are arriving this Saturday for a 7 day stay off site. We will be driving to the parks. It appears at most parks that they open the parking lots around 1 hour prior to opening? Is that accurate from what I think I've seen?

How does the arrival and the monorail and boats work at MK? Should we plan to arrive 1 hour prior to opening at the transportation center at MK? When does the monorail and boats start running?

Thanks so much for the help!

jmoak

 

[Pavy]

It seems like Space Mountains line where you are in the tunnel would be a place without much ventilation. How are people finding that portion of the line? Even with social distancing, that portion of the queue seems like it wouldn't be a great place to stand around for a long time with people who might have Covid. Are the lines typically moving enough where you aren't in there for long?

 

[yulilin3]

Hello, we are arriving this Saturday for a 7 day stay off site. We will be driving to the parks. It appears at most parks that they open the parking lots around 1 hour prior to opening? Is that accurate from what I think I've seen?

How does the arrival and the monorail and boats work at MK? Should we plan to arrive 1 hour prior to opening at the transportation center at MK? When does the monorail and boats start running?

Thanks so much for the help!

jmoak

Monorail and ferry start running as soon as temp check and bag check open, which is about 45 min prior to official park owning, parking lot opens about 45 to 50 min prior so i would be in line for that an hour before official park opening

 

[kdonnel]

It seems like Space Mountains line where you are in the tunnel would be a place without much ventilation. How are people finding that portion of the line? Even with social distancing, that portion of the queue seems like it wouldn't be a great place to stand around for a long time with people who might have Covid. Are the lines typically moving enough where you aren't in there for long?

Each time we rode it, we went through that portion as fast as we could walk.

Then the line would queue back and forth closer to boarding.

 

[NJlauren]

Did Epcot yesterday, the morning (11am) felt crowded!

We arrived around 1045, but DD2 was not having it and took us till 1130 to get to the frozen ride. Luckily DH and DD6 had gone in and were pretty much at the front of the outside line by now.

We rode Frozen, and Gran Fiesta with minimal wait, got some
Margaritas, walked up did mission space green, test track was down all morning and had opened just as we got off mission space, so DH and DD6 did that instead of the rider swap for mission space, they still waited about 35 minutes but pretty good. I waited for two people to get into mouse gears, not going to lie, I kinda like the limited people in the large stores!

We then did living with the land, and Nemo both with little to no wait. Then headed to dinner at Via Napoli, which was amazing and spaced out really well inside. The walk out of the park around 540 felt so long and awkward with all the construction.

I headed back with a girlfriend around 8 and the park was dead! Frozen was still an hour wait, but otherwise it was empty around world showcase and was so nice to walk and check things out.

Also I should note I have overall found the estimated waits in touring plans to be very accurate.

 

[kdonnel]

Spent the 24th at MK. We arrived just before 9am and had to wait about 5 minutes for Jingle Cruise to open. Then on to Pirates and on around the park. In the end we rode everything except Tiki and Country Bears.

We ate counter service at Pecos Bill and had no problem finding an table. Dinner was at Cinderella’s Royal Table. It was our first time there. Food was OK, ambiance was nice. Not something we plan to do again. Food was much better and cheaper at Ravello at the Four Seasons.

Most rides were walk on, with a 10 minute long continuously moving queue. The mountains were all 30 minute waits despite the more then double posted wait times. The only ride with an accurate wait time was 7 Dwarfs. We waited the entire 105 minutes.

I was here on Labor Day and felt the crowds were just a bit more with lines maybe 5 minutes longer on average.

Really enjoyed the greatly reduced crowds again.

Capped the night off by walking over to the Contemporary and watching the SpaceX launch from the pier.

 

[Justrose]

It seems like Space Mountains line where you are in the tunnel would be a place without much ventilation. How are people finding that portion of the line? Even with social distancing, that portion of the queue seems like it wouldn't be a great place to stand around for a long time with people who might have Covid. Are the lines typically moving enough where you aren't in there for long?

I was there last week and rode Space. The advertised wait was 15 min, IIRC. I did have to wait briefly in the tunnel, but it was short.

 

[Pavy]

Each time we rode it, we went through that portion as fast as we could walk.

Then the line would queue back and forth closer to boarding.

Thanks for the response. So you don't have to stand in line in the tunnel? Do they hold you outside and then have you walk through it to the queue at the station before loading?

 

[melissa723]

Thanks for the response. So you don't have to stand in line in the tunnel? Do they hold you outside and then have you walk through it to the queue at the station before loading?

We were there on Friday, and yes, this pretty much what they are doing. The posted wait time for us was 30 min, and it looped around outside a bit before we entered the building. Once inside, we walked at a very fast pace up to where you actually board the vehicles before looping again a bit in the queue up there. Also, we were off the ride in about 20 min, so don't let the size of the line outside fool you.

 

[kdonnel]

Thanks for the response. So you don't have to stand in line in the tunnel? Do they hold you outside and then have you walk through it to the queue at the station before loading?

It wasn’t that they held the line. It just moved very fast at that point. As fast as you wanted to walk as long as you remain behind those walking in front of you.

Moved slower outside weaving and then slower again once past the tunnel weaving at the top.

 

[Raemama]

Thanks to all who are posting their experiences. I‘ve been reading that there are lines to get into the Mexico pyramid in EPCOT. So does this mean if you have an ADR at San Angel Inn, you need to factor in waiting in line before your reservation?

 

[PrincessV]

It seems like Space Mountains line where you are in the tunnel would be a place without much ventilation. How are people finding that portion of the line? Even with social distancing, that portion of the queue seems like it wouldn't be a great place to stand around for a long time with people who might have Covid. Are the lines typically moving enough where you aren't in there for long?

The thing to remember is that with no FP in play, Standby is almost constantly moving; in COVID times, I've never stood in one spot in line more than a minute or two, other than when I hit a cleaning cycle waiting for HM, and I was outdoors for that. So even in what seem like pretty confined indoor spots, you're moving through, not standing in place.