Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[jimim]

This is normally a very busy week. I was there at this time last year, and have been there a number of times around Easter. G+ skews standby wait times. Those who did not buy G+ ARE looking at long lines.

The way G+ works though, the more people buy G+, the more the standby waits get skewed. WDW's customers are pitted against each other. If nobody bought G+, standby times would be much shorter.

In any event, last year, Jungle Cruise opened at 8am. As soon as it opened, the wait was 120min We quickly went to BTMRR, and in those 3 minutes, BTMRR was already at 70min, and rose to 90 within seconds.

This morning, at 8:55am, BTMRR was 60 and JC was 35. Long, but not nearly as long as last year. Much of the park still had short waits: barnstormer 10, Buzz 30, Dumbo 10, Small World 5, Teacups 5, Carpets 15, Pooh 25, Phil 10, Pirates 10, Little Mermaid 5. Even Space Mtn was only 35, and Pan was only 55. Those kinds of waits happen on slow days an hour after the park opens to offsite guests.

Genie plus also makes stand buy wait times increase due to a large number of people going through for genie. They get priority a vast portion of the time which they should for paying but if you are in a standby line with a large number of people running through with genie that standby line is going to suffer. I have seen it at both rise and reme. Standing at the spot where people combine and only 1-2 standby go through to however many genie plus. They slows those stand by line down to a crawl.

 

[M SH]

Genie plus also makes stand buy wait times increase due to a large number of people going through for genie. They get priority a vast portion of the time which they should for paying but if you are in a standby line with a large number of people running through with genie that standby line is going to suffer. I have seen it at both rise and reme. Standing at the spot where people combine and only 1-2 standby go through to however many genie plus. They slows those stand by line down to a crawl.

This is where universal is much better at this. Im not talking about the express pass option, but more about how much people are pulled from each line. In my experience there, it has been equal number of people pulled from each line. which adds a little more wait to the express line (but still manageable) and standby lines also keep moving. Disney, on the other hand, has like a 90 (genie+) / 10 (standby) approach which just makes standby unusable with high crowds.

 

[Yarbogash]

This is where universal is much better at this. Im not talking about the express pass option, but more about how much people are pulled from each line. In my experience there, it has been equal number of people pulled from each line. which adds a little more wait to the express line (but still manageable) and standby lines also keep moving. Disney, on the other hand, has like a 90 (genie+) / 10 (standby) approach which just makes standby unusable with high crowds.

Yup and yup.
It shouldn't be and I wish it wasn’t this way but I don’t get how anyone not using genie+ in that situation on a busy day can come away satisfied with their park experience. Was at MK yesterday and even with genie+ it was a struggle at times. EEH really made the day for us but of course that’s limited also.
Without EEH and especially without paying for genie+, I’d have thought the whole day was rubbish, Disney sucks, etc.
Anyone not using those perks actually enjoy themselves at the parks yesterday?

 

[jimim]

This is where universal is much better at this.

Yup and yup.
It shouldn't be and I wish it wasn’t this way but I don’t get how anyone not using genie+ in that situation on a busy day can come away satisfied with their park experience. Was at MK yesterday and even with genie+ it was a struggle at times. EEH really made the day for us but of course that’s limited also.
Without EEH and especially without paying for genie+, I’d have thought the whole day was rubbish, Disney sucks, etc.
Anyone not using those perks actually enjoy themselves at the parks yesterday?

2 days ago MK was off the wall. We rope dropped as always and by 1230 latest we:

Mine train
Space mountain
Tron
Big thunder
Pirates
Haunted mansion
Tiki
Carousel of progress
Mikey phil

I was pretty satisfied. This is very typical for us also.

I don’t use genie plus at all. Yesterday was our 4th park day and we have been on it all. Tron 3 times. Guardians 2 times. Not 3 cause we got tired right before being called other night.

Yesterday we rope dropped remi. Then guardians and a few other things in Epcot and tron last night. Fireworks and then we hit jungle cruise and bunch of other stuff before sending the night on tron.
That’s a good day to me. I would think others would agree.

If u know how to do it genie plus isn’t needed. But we also don’t stay in park all day so then you would when just. But we hit night hard after a nice dinner.

No rubbish here just put the time in and it’s very simple and we aren’t running ourselves ragged. Kids have been in pool each day in afternoon. Me and my wife do whatever. Shower dinner at a signature and then back in like I mentioned.

 

[Mermaidtails1323]

2 days ago MK was off the wall. We rope dropped as always and by 1230 latest we:

Mine train
Space mountain
Tron
Big thunder
Pirates
Haunted mansion
Tiki
Carousel of progress
Mikey phil

I was pretty satisfied. This is very typical for us also.

I don’t use genie plus at all. Yesterday was our 4th park day and we have been on it all. Tron 3 times. Guardians 2 times. Not 3 cause we got tired right before being called other night.

Yesterday we rope dropped remi. Then guardians and a few other things in Epcot and tron last night. Fireworks and then we hit jungle cruise and bunch of other stuff before sending the night on tron.
That’s a good day to me. I would think others would agree.

If u know how to do it genie plus isn’t needed. But we also don’t stay in park all day so then you would when just. But we hit night hard after a nice dinner.

No rubbish here just put the time in and it’s very simple and we aren’t running ourselves ragged. Kids have been in pool each day in afternoon. Me and my wife do whatever. Shower dinner at a signature and then back in like I mentioned.

Curious, since you are there during a busy time, what your waits are like without Genie+. I have pretty good strategy for rope drop and maximizing rides most mornings at each park. Just wondering what waits are like at other times during a busier week, especially since you don't use Genie+.

 

[pens4821]

Yup and yup.
It shouldn't be and I wish it wasn’t this way but I don’t get how anyone not using genie+ in that situation on a busy day can come away satisfied with their park experience. Was at MK yesterday and even with genie+ it was a struggle at times. EEH really made the day for us but of course that’s limited also.
Without EEH and especially without paying for genie+, I’d have thought the whole day was rubbish, Disney sucks, etc.
Anyone not using those perks actually enjoy themselves at the parks yesterday?

We were there a couple weeks ago when it was extremely busy. Getting to the parks before they even open, then staying late (after a mid day 4-5 hour break) worked for us. We did buy genie two of our six park days just to make it a bit easier and not have to stay out as late those days.

You can get 2/3 headliners done quick if you’re there lined up ready to go in. Then fill it some of the lesser wait stuff before lunch then a break. Then we’d head back around 5, have dinner, do the lesser stuff, then save a headliner for right before close. We slept in two days and just did lesser stuff in the late morning/early afternoon those park days.

We also had the advantage of the deluxe extra hours, but honestly they didn’t help us all that much. Our Epcot evening we rode GOG and remy. We got soarin, mission space, and test track done between 7-9. Our MK night we only rode tron and Pooh (we did quite a bit from 8-11 before deluxe hours began).

I know a lot of people hate the thought of getting up on vacation. And yea it is kind of annoying, but it’s the best way to get things done. I just left my alarm the same as I would for work (530), so it really wasn’t any different. Even the 16 year old is ok getting up at Disney because he knows that’s how to avoid waits.

 

[jimim]

Yup and yup.
It shouldn't be and I wish it wasn’t this way but I don’t get how anyone not using genie+ in that situation on a busy day can come away satisfied with their park experience. Was at MK yesterday and even with genie+ it was a struggle at times. EEH really made the day for us but of course that’s limited also.
Without EEH and especially without paying for genie+, I’d have thought the whole day was rubbish, Disney sucks, etc.
Anyone not using those perks actually enjoy themselves at the parks yesterday?

Curious, since you are there during a busy time, what your waits are like without Genie+. I have pretty good strategy for rope drop and maximizing rides most mornings at each park. Just wondering what waits are like at other times during a busier week, especially since you don't use Genie+.

Look at my list of things done in a 730 to 1230 periods. Kinda clues u in. So space mountain was like prob 15. Posted was 25 I remember. Tron we walked on. Haunted mansion was prob 30 plus. Pirates said 25 also was like 10. Big thunder prob like 20 ish?

I don’t put much in the posted times I know the lines and what they look like. We just got off buzz. Said 30 mins was 5 mins. There was zero line outside the ride so that’s a clue. Raceway said 30. Line was way way way outside the regular line so not 30. We r used to what to look for based on how much we are here. We dont get to come when it’s slower either. It’s always holidays cause of the kids and school or summer.

Pressure is deff on right now. Thanksgiving has nothing on right now I feel.

Have a plan. Get to bus or whatever 90 mins early like they say here. That’s key. U got to be that first bus. If you aren’t you are chancing it getting messed up.Missed our first Hollywood day we hit second bus. We were back pretty far so we had to wait for at least 15-20for slinky. Kids bailed on us and went on Toy Story mania 3 times to our slinky wait and ride and then they got onto Mickey and Minnie train without us cause they switched up their rope drop. We are old and set in our ways I guess. lol. We let them go in there own now when they want.

First bus. Don’t be afraid to cross park if you can walk. That helps to be very very flexible and learn to read the line vs posted times.

Listen if it’s a once in life trip genie is prob the way to go but if you got 2 days per park and will be back don’t go extreme tour hard earned money. Put the time in and learn the system. Lie I said 4 days in and we have done it all and we have rode the headliners some multiple times.

 

[Fabinva]

My family and I visited March 4-9. We tried Epcot the first day without Genie+, stood online 50min for frozen and the ride went down. The posted wait was 55min but it was longer than that. Those with Genie+ got priority and A LOT more people were pulled from the Genie+ line than the standby line. We got Lighting pass for it after talking to Guest services, we then rode GotG. Walked around the countries, heard Richard Marx (great show), tried Remy but the line was not moving at all, posted wait was 70min. The lighting lane for Remy was very long too but it was moving.
Everything else had a wait that was longer than we were willing to stand for, so we did Frozen and called it a day.
Next day at DHS I purchased Genie+, we had a group of 6 and that was a lot of extra money but we managed to get everything we wanted done. We got in right at park opening and did Rise first, then rode Millennium Falcon, Toy Story Mania, Slinky, ToT, Alien Saucers, Muppets, Star Tours, Mickey and Minnie train.
We used Genie+ at AK as well, rode all we wanted. I'd say that the posted line for RoP at 6:30pm was 180min, we saw so many people walking out of standby line that we thought it was down but it was because just like I saw before very few people from standby were being grabbed compared to the lighting lane. We had a ligthing lane along with many others, that line was long but not slow. I wanted to ride it at park closing but the wait time was 120min.
I feel awful for those families that cannot afford the extra cost of lighting lanes because it is miserable to stand in line for so long and watch the lighting lines go by fast. We've been to Disney many times, usually go once a year but this last one was the worse experience. I think it was due to being busier than expected.

 

[Yarbogash]

2 days ago MK was off the wall. We rope dropped as always and by 1230 latest we:

Mine train
Space mountain
Tron
Big thunder
Pirates
Haunted mansion
Tiki
Carousel of progress
Mikey phil

I was pretty satisfied. This is very typical for us also.

I don’t use genie plus at all. Yesterday was our 4th park day and we have been on it all. Tron 3 times. Guardians 2 times. Not 3 cause we got tired right before being called other night.

Yesterday we rope dropped remi. Then guardians and a few other things in Epcot and tron last night. Fireworks and then we hit jungle cruise and bunch of other stuff before sending the night on tron.
That’s a good day to me. I would think others would agree.

If u know how to do it genie plus isn’t needed. But we also don’t stay in park all day so then you would when just. But we hit night hard after a nice dinner.

No rubbish here just put the time in and it’s very simple and we aren’t running ourselves ragged. Kids have been in pool each day in afternoon. Me and my wife do whatever. Shower dinner at a signature and then back in like I mentioned.

Glad it works for you, that’s some good strategy and I’ve made similar suggestions to others but there’s problems with it.
For most folks that strategy is counter intuitive. Getting up for rope drop and doing 2 round trips to the park is, for many people, the definition of being run ragged.
Especially for anyone who comes from the west coast and given the time adjustment (that’s our kids), rope drop is never gonna work.
Also I think for a lot of people they came to Disney to visit MK and paid a lot of money to be there and the solution to leave the park for a chunk of the day doesn’t make sense.
So there they are, or they were yesterday. Thousands of them grinding thru those lines. I saw so many unhappy faces.

 

[jimim]

Glad it works for you, that’s some good strategy and I’ve made similar suggestions to others but there’s problems with it.
For most folks that strategy is counter intuitive. Getting up for rope drop and doing 2 round trips to the park is, for many people, the definition of being run ragged.
Especially for anyone who comes from the west coast and given the time adjustment (that’s our kids), rope drop is never gonna work.
Also I think for a lot of people they came to Disney to visit MK and paid a lot of money to be there and the solution to leave the park for a chunk of the day doesn’t make sense.
So there they are, or they were yesterday. Thousands of them grinding thru those lines. I saw so many unhappy faces.

So for us we come usually 8 full days so we do each park twice. We also hop at night.

We both work and are up by 5 each day. I fish and for tournament days I’m on the water by 430 so for us and the kids opposing each day is easy. We r usually in bed by 10-11 and up for 5 so it’s normal to us. My kids r in the pool now. If they were tired they would be sleeping.

We have been in Epcot 4 times already. MK 3 times. Hollywood twice. We always end up in each park multiple multiple times even if it’s for a short period. I would think most people who buy a hopper and going to each park multiple times each trip even on a week only one. Maybe I’m wrong. I just don’t like being in the park those peek hours when it’s busiest. It isn’t functional for us especially in the summer heat.

We wander a lot. Like this morning after breakfast which was unusual for us w went into MK to just walk. Ended up on 3 rides. Kids left and my wife and myself just walked and watched like we used to. Took a few pics for people cause I guess we didn’t look in a hurry like everyone else.

If I’m down here I like being in the park even if it’s to just wander around but we always seem to hit stuff.

Just us. Everyone is different. Tonight we have dinner over flying fish. We will go into hs then to wait on rise if it’s not off the charts which it prob will be but we will see if not maybe the Falcon or if not head out and see what the train or mania looks like close to closing.

 

[Yarbogash]

We were there a couple weeks ago when it was extremely busy. Getting to the parks before they even open, then staying late (after a mid day 4-5 hour break) worked for us. We did buy genie two of our six park days just to make it a bit easier and not have to stay out as late those days.

You can get 2/3 headliners done quick if you’re there lined up ready to go in. Then fill it some of the lesser wait stuff before lunch then a break. Then we’d head back around 5, have dinner, do the lesser stuff, then save a headliner for right before close. We slept in two days and just did lesser stuff in the late morning/early afternoon those park days.

We also had the advantage of the deluxe extra hours, but honestly they didn’t help us all that much. Our Epcot evening we rode GOG and remy. We got soarin, mission space, and test track done between 7-9. Our MK night we only rode tron and Pooh (we did quite a bit from 8-11 before deluxe hours began).

I know a lot of people hate the thought of getting up on vacation. And yea it is kind of annoying, but it’s the best way to get things done. I just left my alarm the same as I would for work (530), so it really wasn’t any different. Even the 16 year old is ok getting up at Disney because he knows that’s how to avoid waits.

Ahh, nice but for us it was the opposite. Again, coming from the west coast that 1am close last night was 10pm for us so whole family was good to go right till the end. We were looping Big Thunder at the end, having a blast.
My wife is always itching to do rope drop but nobody else in our group is on that wavelength.

 

[gottalovepluto]

…. We had a ligthing lane along with many others, that line was long but not slow. I wanted to ride it at park closing but the wait time was 120min.

Sorry you were scared off of trying for ROTR at close! Disney drastically inflates wait times at the end of the night to deter people getting in line and ROTR might be the worst of all. Also working in favor of all standby lines after park close is nobody can enter LL anymore.

 

[kylenne]

Have a plan. Get to bus or whatever 90 mins early like they say here. That’s key. U got to be that first bus. If you aren’t you are chancing it getting messed up.Missed our first Hollywood day we hit second bus. We were back pretty far so we had to wait for at least 15-20for slinky.

I find that rope drop crowds REALLY build insanely fast at HS and AK specifically. The difference between getting there even 5 minutes earlier is truly absurd. One thing you can do if you find yourself further back than you'd like is make sure you're on the outside lines rather than in the middle, more often than not they open up new lines and you can work your way up a bit further. I did that once at HS and ended up 1st in line at a newly opened tapstile ahead of people who were there slightly before me.

 

[jimim]

I find that rope drop crowds REALLY build insanely fast at HS and AK specifically. The difference between getting there even 5 minutes earlier is truly absurd. One thing you can do if you find yourself further back than you'd like is make sure you're on the outside lines rather than in the middle, more often than not they open up new lines and you can work your way up a bit further. I did that once at HS and ended up 1st in line at a newly opened tapstile ahead of people who were there slightly before me.

Oh we do that. Never middle regardless of placement of path we need to go.

Yes if u don’t hit first bus from your resort forget it. This trip we were doing a 75 min at bus stop but we figured after 2 days we needed to go back to the 90 for this trip. Like at that point does it really matter. lol

 

[scrappinginontario]

Oh we do that. Never middle regardless of placement of path we need to go.

Yes if u don’t hit first bus from your resort forget it. This trip we were doing a 75 min at bus stop but we figured after 2 days we needed to go back to the 90 for this trip. Like at that point does it really matter. lol

Yes, arriving at resort transportation 90 mins before ETPE is still key to being towards the front of the crowds.

 

[pinkxray]

We are heading to MK today. Early hours are 730. Do they hold until 730 at the front of the park or do they let you into Main Street and hold you in front of Fantasyland/ Tomorrowland?

 

[scrappinginontario]

We are heading to MK today. Early hours are 730. Do they hold until 730 at the front of the park or do they let you into Main Street and hold you in front of Fantasyland/ Tomorrowland?

Guests are held in the hub until ETPE begins.

 

[SwanVT2]

This is normally a very busy week. I was there at this time last year, and have been there a number of times around Easter. G+ skews standby wait times. Those who did not buy G+ ARE looking at long lines.

The way G+ works though, the more people buy G+, the more the standby waits get skewed. WDW's customers are pitted against each other. If nobody bought G+, standby times would be much shorter.

In any event, last year, Jungle Cruise opened at 8am. As soon as it opened, the wait was 120min We quickly went to BTMRR, and in those 3 minutes, BTMRR was already at 70min, and rose to 90 within seconds.

This morning, at 8:55am, BTMRR was 60 and JC was 35. Long, but not nearly as long as last year. Much of the park still had short waits: barnstormer 10, Buzz 30, Dumbo 10, Small World 5, Teacups 5, Carpets 15, Pooh 25, Phil 10, Pirates 10, Little Mermaid 5. Even Space Mtn was only 35, and Pan was only 55. Those kinds of waits happen on slow days an hour after the park opens to offsite guests.

In all of our trips since DD was born we have not once been able to get on Jungle cruise because it is always over an hour wait

 

[mickeyluv'r]

In all of our trips since DD was born we have not once been able to get on Jungle cruise because it is always over an hour wait

Sorry to hear that.

 

[dreamer17555]

In all of our trips since DD was born we have not once been able to get on Jungle cruise because it is always over an hour wait

I’m a huge fan of jungle Cruise in the evening and you can normally get on it without nearly as much of a wait especially if you go right after fireworks.