Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[POOH&PIGLET]

AK ropedrop today:
6:48 left room in Kidani Village
6:50 at bus stop - next bus is listed at 6:58 (bus arrived at 7:00), next bus listed now as 7:23

7:13 at tapstyles (being held)
7:23 on bridge
7:30 begin walking (with CMs in front)
7:34 walking in the queue (only 2 people in front of us)
7:42 outside link chambers (then held)
7:59 off FOP

8:03 in line for Navi (posted 10 min wait)
8:06 on ride (almost walk on)
8:13 off Navi

8:22 in line for Everest
8:28 off
rode Everest again (front row)
8:36 off

8:43 in line for Safari (posted 10 min wait)
8:47 loaded
9:12 off

Had coffee

9:28 in line for Safari
posted 10 min wait
9:35 loaded

Had a snack & hung out.

12:41 in line for Dinosaur
posted 5 min wait
Walked into preshow.

3:02 in line for Kali River Rapids
Posted 30 minute wait
3:33 Boarding (so posted time was accurate)

5:03 in line for FOP
posted 20 min wait!!! [my kids asked me why we has to wake up so early]
5:35 off FOP

5:43 in line for Navi
posted 10 min wait
5:49 boarded

Wow oh wow -- it was empty today at AK. My wife slept in and joined us 2 hours later and didn't miss anything [we repeated FOP, Navi & safari]. We has breakfast, lunch (Yak & Yeti) and dinner (Satuli Canteen) at AK and did everything we wanted (with lots of down time).
GREAT day today!

Heading to MK tomorrow & NOT doing rope drop after today's light crowds

 

[cam8n]

At Universal now moving to Disney end of week . Probably only 20% of people wearing masks here and we're finding it tough to social distance for most rides but we expected that and wouldn't have came if we weren't vaccinated. Tonight leaving dinner in citywalk a teenage girl was going around pretending to sneeze next to people and laughing at the reactions. We were not amused

 

[CampbellzSoup]

At Universal now moving to Disney end of week . Probably only 20% of people wearing masks here and we're finding it tough to social distance for most rides but we expected that and wouldn't have came if we weren't vaccinated. Tonight leaving dinner in citywalk a teenage girl was going around pretending to sneeze next to people and laughing at the reactions. We were not amused

I wouldn’t realistically these days go theme park expecting people to socially distance but to each their - own also I’m kind of glad universal is allowing people to make their own choices for their own health but that lady sounds so stupid ignorant and just awful who does something like that?

 

[WEDWDW]

I never see any discussion about the Epcot Bands at Food & Wine,but we caught The Hooligans last night and loved them!

Stones,Zeppelin,Queen,Lennon-one hit after another.

Kind of reminded me of the good old days with British Invasion!

Also enjoyed the High Fireworks from HEA followed by Epcot Forever.

Japan is probably the best spot to see the HEA fireworks right now-Harmonius has "blocked" a lot of spots.

Speaking of Harmonius,it looked like they had all the Fountains going today-didn't help!lol

 

[MomOTwins]

Celebrated my birthday yesterday in MK.

I have mixed feelings. Daytime crowds were very manageable, though considerably worse than HS or AK. We rope dropped space and were on in about 20 mins. Did a few low-wait rides to knock them out (buzz, teacups. Dumbo, and little mermaid were all walk ons). Then we did have “real” waits for everything else. Left after an early lunch at pecos bills (food good, table distancing nonexistent—I could have reached put and touched the family next to us). We then did a pool break and returned around 5:30pm. Did pirates with no wait and seemed mosy rides had lower waits than morning. Had dinner at CRT—wonderful. They have really improved food quality since pre-covid.

Finished around 8:15 and exited to what felt like a mosh pit at a concert. The HEA scene is bonkers. It was definitely not that bad on any of my pre-covid trips. Not just the hub—every inch of the bridges to fantasyland and tomorrowland and also all down main street to the train station was a shoulder to shoulder mass of people. We gave up pretty quick and just wanted to get out. We couldn’t move on main street so doubled back and used the tomorrow land “escape route” to get away from the madness but what we saw was pretty bananas. I hope they bring back fantasmic to suck up some of the evening crowds as it seems everyone is hopping to MK for evenings.

We saw some CMs lose their cool at guests. Never saw that before. Once was at teacups where the CM screamed at some pre-teen kids who jumped the fence that they were line cutting and were going to get kicked out of the park (they weren’t—they were bypassing an empty part of the queue). The POTC CM also snapped at us for asking if we could wait for the front row (my five year old really wanted it and we happened to be at the front of the line for the next boat) but she gave us a lecture about how her job is to balance the boat and we shouldn’t be interfering for safety reasons, before seating us in row 2 and then promptly seating the next family (the same size as us) in the front row after we boarded. Other CNs were great and I heard “happy birthday” a ton while wearing my pin. Just wondering if we are seeing some CM fatigue from the busy summer taking its toll.

Anyhow, wish me luck in 43 mins for the BG finger tap lottery. I do know all the tips from the ROTR thread so fingers crossed.

 

[mousefan73]

Celebrated my birthday yesterday in MK.

I have mixed feelings. Daytime crowds were very manageable, though considerably worse than HS or AK. We rope dropped space and were on in about 20 mins. Did a few low-wait rides to knock them out (buzz, teacups. Dumbo, and little mermaid were all walk ons). Then we did have “real” waits for everything else. Left after an early lunch at pecos bills (food good, table distancing nonexistent—I could have reached put and touched the family next to us). We then did a pool break and returned around 5:30pm. Did pirates with no wait and seemed mosy rides had lower waits than morning. Had dinner at CRT—wonderful. They have really improved food quality since pre-covid.

Finished around 8:15 and exited to what felt like a mosh pit at a concert. The HEA scene is bonkers. It was definitely not that bad on any of my pre-covid trips. Not just the hub—every inch of the bridges to fantasyland and tomorrowland and also all down main street to the train station was a shoulder to shoulder mass of people. We gave up pretty quick and just wanted to get out. We couldn’t move on main street so doubled back and used the tomorrow land “escape route” to get away from the madness but what we saw was pretty bananas. I hope they bring back fantasmic to suck up some of the evening crowds as it seems everyone is hopping to MK for evenings.

We saw some CMs lose their cool at guests. Never saw that before. Once was at teacups where the CM screamed at some pre-teen kids who jumped the fence that they were line cutting and were going to get kicked out of the park (they weren’t—they were bypassing an empty part of the queue). The POTC CM also snapped at us for asking if we could wait for the front row (my five year old really wanted it and we happened to be at the front of the line for the next boat) but she gave us a lecture about how her job is to balance the boat and we shouldn’t be interfering for safety reasons, before seating us in row 2 and then promptly seating the next family (the same size as us) in the front row after we boarded. Other CNs were great and I heard “happy birthday” a ton while wearing my pin. Just wondering if we are seeing some CM fatigue from the busy summer taking its toll.

Anyhow, wish me luck in 43 mins for the BG finger tap lottery. I do know all the tips from the ROTR thread so fingers crossed.

Thanks.. your feedback is making wonder how to deal with late evening firework crowds... Do you happen to know if the back of the park, frontierland etc.. is less crowded, empty.. We dont need the fireworks,, and we take is real slow exiting the park, waiting for others to leave... we want to avoid crowds..

 

[slyster]

Thanks for the feedback....unfortunately we will join the fireworks/shows. Too many people crowded together and leaving will be a bit squishy for us LOL. We are within walking distance of DHS and Epcot so we may venture nearby.

 

[kimili8]

We are feeling the same way. No way would we feel comfortable bringing an unvaccinated child. We're at universal now andmove to Disney end of the week. I wou

We are doing the opposite and are moving over to Universal tomorrow night. Fingers crossed for you that the crowds remain so low here in Disney, bc it’s been absolutely amazing !

 

[kimili8]

AK ropedrop today:
6:48 left room in Kidani Village
6:50 at bus stop - next bus is listed at 6:58 (bus arrived at 7:00), next bus listed now as 7:23

7:13 at tapstyles (being held)
7:23 on bridge
7:30 begin walking (with CMs in front)
7:34 walking in the queue (only 2 people in front of us)
7:42 outside link chambers (then held)
7:59 off FOP

8:03 in line for Navi (posted 10 min wait)
8:06 on ride (almost walk on)
8:13 off Navi

8:22 in line for Everest
8:28 off
rode Everest again (front row)
8:36 off

8:43 in line for Safari (posted 10 min wait)
8:47 loaded
9:12 off

Had coffee

9:28 in line for Safari
posted 10 min wait
9:35 loaded

Had a snack & hung out.

12:41 in line for Dinosaur
posted 5 min wait
Walked into preshow.

3:02 in line for Kali River Rapids
Posted 30 minute wait
3:33 Boarding (so posted time was accurate)

5:03 in line for FOP
posted 20 min wait!!! [my kids asked me why we has to wake up so early]
5:35 off FOP

5:43 in line for Navi
posted 10 min wait
5:49 boarded

Wow oh wow -- it was empty today at AK. My wife slept in and joined us 2 hours later and didn't miss anything [we repeated FOP, Navi & safari]. We has breakfast, lunch (Yak & Yeti) and dinner (Satuli Canteen) at AK and did everything we wanted (with lots of down time).
GREAT day today!

Heading to MK tomorrow & NOT doing rope drop after today's light crowds

We probably crossed paths, we were on the very same schedule until after Safari. Amazing day!

 

[MomOTwins]

Got BG 66 woohoo! Went outdoors turned off wifi and looked for a good signal—tgink that helped (DH was in the room on wifi and I beat him to it).

Thanks.. your feedback is making wonder how to deal with late evening firework crowds... Do you happen to know if the back of the park, frontierland etc.. is less crowded, empty.. We dont need the fireworks,, and we take is real slow exiting the park, waiting for others to leave... we want to avoid crowds..

Did not see the frontier/adventure side. But we walked the length if the mine train/pooh area and tomorrowland and crowds were pretty light. I would have been comfortable seeing the fireworks there but we already did that (i.e. watched fireworks without projections) the night before so figured if we couldn’t watch from in front if the castle we should just leave to avoid a long post fireworks wait for the bus.

 

[mdsd8700]

7:13 at tapstyles (being held)
7:23 on bridge
7:30 begin walking (with CMs in front)
7:34 walking in the queue (only 2 people in front of us)
7:42 outside link chambers (then held)
7:59 off FOP

We were there last Saturday and our experience was pretty much the same for FOP. We went on Safari and EE after and were done by 9:15 am. We didn't do any other rides and had an ADR at Tusker House at 9:30.

 

[Geomom]

Switched resorts yesterday. Got out of room at 11, dropped luggage with bell services to be sent from Kidani to Wilderness Lodge. They said it would be there by 5pm. Went to bus stop and walked right onto Epcot bus!

Epcot 8/16

• 11:40 walked on Soarin, listed 10
• 11:55 walked on The Land, listed 5
• Saw Joy doing yoga on the grass.
• 2 orders of spanakopita
• 
  
• Bought Remy maps
• Kiosks: Shimmering Sips: mimosa flight and banana bread, Noodle Exchange: tofu pho... unexpectedly spicy...too hot for DD21, Canada: filet mignon, Ireland: sausage and colcannon , chocolate bread pudding, and Guinness Baileys shake (for DD21...she drank half I finished it .. didn't go well with my mimosa flight, ), Greece: 3 spanakopita orders for DD17 (she loves spanakopita) and griddled cheese for DH and I.
• 2pm American adventure show...the AC was much welcomed.
• 3pm Frozen listed 35 took 30.
• Donut box kiosk: candy, and sriracha donuts
• 4:05: Test Track listed 40 took 25...walked right into building, had fun designing our car again, we missed doing that prior covid trips...but didn't like how much they pack you in while waiting to go into design room.
• Took friendship boat to Morocco.
• 5:50 dinner at Teppan Edo, food was yummy, great show.
• Got Remy prizes, little bowls that would be good for ice cream. DD21 chose Belle, DD17 took Mickey and Minnie.
• 7:45 Spaceship Earth walked on
• 8:11 walked on The seas, walked around aquarium. DD17 loved rays so this made her so happy.
• 8:45 found a spot to watch Epcot Forever between port of entry and Disney traders. Hadn't seen it before. Thought it was so so, definitely looks like a temporary show.
• Just missed bus to Wilderness Lodge, but another came in 2 minutes!

We wore our masks everywhere at Epcot, except while eating and drinking, too many people for us to be comfortable removing masks for more than a couple of minutes. Definitely lots of people in World Showcase in the evening. Had a great ride day though!

Today is a resort day, love our 1 bedroom at Copper Creek. We're doing laundry, cooking brunch, using the pool, etc. Going to Boo Bash tonight.

 

[sjrec]

So… after my third time being evacuated from rise of the resistance, I feel
Like we should get a pass back to rise, and a pass for something else. That’s 3 times we waited and one time at guest services because all Of the recoveries didn’t load. And, again all of them didn’t load so I need to go through guest services again.

I hope you were given recovery passes.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

This is what we did. My husband had the world clock pulled up on his phone and he started counting down for me when there was 10 seconds left before 7:00am. We must have done something right - we got boarding group 19.

How do you use the world clock when it has no seconds?

 

[Makmak]

I hope you were given recovery passes.

At that point they should get another park ticket because that’s an entire wasted day

 

[Sarahslay]

Are you from the UK? Can you confirm that you are not allowed to pull kids from schools. So if things were to open those coming would only include people without kids- if it’s during term?

I am not, I just followed a vlogger from the UK that started a FB group that I joined, and I have friends in the UK as well. They don't have school aged kids though, just toddlers (and one only has cats, not kids). I think they technically can pull their kids from school but it's much less likely since they get more frequent and longer breaks than US schools do. From what I see in the school it's almost like how my friends in Californias year round school calendar works, and they also tend not to pull their kids out because they know a longer break is right around the corner....and they know they need to save their time off of work for that as well. It would probably mostly be couples without children though, you are right, but there are a lot of those. Most of my group are couples or solo travelers, since that vlogger is younger, unmarried without kids, and did solo trips that is a lot of the audience she attracted, that is the audience I see waiting on the edge of their seat waiting to come over.

 

[Tess]

This is the bag I have and will be bringing on my upcoming trip there. I brought it on my last trip back in 2015, but can't remember what type of security you had to walk through back then.

Good luck! Mine hasn't passed muster since the institution of the scanner machines AND needing to walk through said machines with all of your items. I never had a problem when you tossed the bag on the table for a quick look see (EPCOT) and then went through the scanners. There have been so many interations of the entry procedure I'm not sure I can recall what it was in 2015, but I do know it is different now from back then, i.e., keeping all items on your person and everyone is scanned. Any items that cause an alert--off to the bag check line.

 

[William B]

Good luck! Mine hasn't passed muster since the institution of the scanner machines AND needing to walk through said machines with all of your items. I never had a problem when you tossed the bag on the table for a quick look see (EPCOT) and then went through the scanners. There have been so many interations of the entry procedure I'm not sure I can recall what it was in 2015, but I do know it is different now from back then, i.e., keeping all items on your person and everyone is scanned. Any items that cause an alert--off to the bag check line.

I carried a sling style bag with me, holding it out in front of me and did not keep it on my back going through the scanner (this was something one of the security people at the first entrance we made suggested). It also had the zipper in the strap for small items but I did not keep anything there. I had sunscreen carabiner clipped to one of the rings of the bag and our reusable metal straws to another. In the bad were the usual water bottles, snacks, ponchos kind of stuff. I also had in my hands in front of me my cell phone and an umbrella the couple times we took one. Never had an issue with needing additional screening, so I got lucky! I don't think there is any way to know what will or won't set it off.

 

[jmparry]

They are and they are horrible. We got the collapsible metal straws you can hook to a key chain off of Amazon and they worked great.

I think these were the ones we used Amazon

Thank you for the link! Do these straws make drinks taste metallic? TIA

 

[aldeanarmyangel]

No they do not, we have metal straws from amazon as well, only way to go!!