Ok, this is a rant. I apologize in advance.
We were here the last week of July and are back this week (lots of DVC points expiring) and it is so different this time. The parks are way more crowded but there’s still the same amount of stuff (not) open. The wait times are crazy now, we are fast pass experts and never wait for anything so 30+ minutes for things like small world or muppets is just a nonstarter for us. It’s obvious that they’ve increased attendance capacity but they haven’t been open about that and I think that’s shady.
Today was our HS day, we got there early and didn’t get a boarding group and the wait times were ridiculous and people were just streaming into the park. So at 10:03 we headed for the exit and spent the day at Universal and had a great time. We spent yesterday at Universal too even though we had planned for AK. We had never been before and bought annual passes to check it out. I think UO is doing a way better job than Disney at making a positive guest experience. Mask compliance is every bit as good as at disney. It wasn’t crowded, team members were WONDERFUL, there was plenty to ride without super long waits, TONS of entertainment, tasty food. We waited for one of those new crepes for about 40 minutes and in that time we saw: the fountain show, the scooby doo gang, the Secret Life of Pets float and dancers, the spongebob float, Marilyn, a penguin and King Julian from Madagascar. And all without moving away from the crepe stand! Wizarding world blew my mind and puts galaxy’s edge to shame. Like seriously, that is some next-level theming. At noon, I was able to make a 12:35 appointment for my own private wand experience at Ollivander’s. And the frog choir is one of the best things I’ve ever seen! I could watch them all day! Hey look, Disney, they’re singing and entertaining us with masks on! See? It can be done!
I never thought I would say this, but Disney’s dropped the ball. I was expecting an improved experience by now compared to July, but that is not what’s happening, if you’re staying on property especially. There is not enough to do after the parks close, people are literally wandering around looking for places to eat or have a drink. We went to abracadabar last night for a drink and they turned away about 15 people while we were there for 20 minutes because they were full and they aren’t serving outside. And there’s nowhere else to get a drink on the boardwalk. That’s money Disney isn’t making. Why don’t they open Big River and espn club? Or even the margarita stand? We had to rush back to Riviera from the BW because the skyliner stops at 8:30. People on the monorail loop are shocked that the monorail stops running at 7! The parks are just leaving us feeling angry and frustrated because there isn’t much to do and we feel like we waste a day of park pass at a park that’s too busy but we can’t parkhop. Epcot is the only one that’s fun now but only because of the food booths, we all know futureworld is a hot mess.
As for safety, I felt quite safe at UO or my home park of BG Williamsburg because people are following the rules for the most part in pretty much the same proportions at all the parks; there are bad actors at all of them. I feel like they mostly have good policies and procedures in place (I actually prefer the way UO makes you sanitize instead of doing the useless hosing down of the rides every 2 hours, which then forces me to wait in an indoor queue with strangers while not moving for anywhere from 10-25 minutes instead of moving on, THAT’S what makes me feel unsafe). I felt safe here in July, I now don’t feel as safe at disney as at other parks because they are letting in way too many people for the amount of attractions and activities they have open and they keep trapping us in long lines that sometimes stop for a long time, whether for breakdowns or cleanings.
I won’t mince words: If you’re on the fence about coming here, I say delay your trip or go to Uni and seaworld instead. You can actually buy annual passes for those parks lol. We have more points that are expiring and so we have another trip planned for Nov and I’m not really looking forward to it because they’re going to be even more crowded then because it’s holiday time and the weather’s better. Guess we’ll have to just spend more time (and money) at the non-disney parks.