Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping

[Crescent_Lake]

Much to report as I fly away....and will when i can collect my thoughts and recover some brain cells.. however I will start off by saying the typo in this ad which is in every disney bus bothered me the whole trip...ugh.
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It is often steaming hot at WDW so...

 

[Gary Stocker]

It is often steaming hot at WDW so...

..and it was..all week....not one drop of rain!

 

[gottalovepluto]

..and it was..all week....not one drop of rain!

That is because all of it dropped in a 90 minute period the previous week when I was trying to take the Skyliner from IG to RIV

 

[gottalovepluto]

Was at the parks 4/10 - 4/18. First couple days days parks were dead, it was glorious. 10/10 would do the week after the week after Easter again, wish we’d started the trip a bit earlier! Crowds surged somewhat over the weekend and dropped down some the following week- although it wasn’t as quiet as those first couple days. Didn’t feel crowds hit crazy level at anytime- but I took Sun 4/14 off as a resort day.

Pretty good weather with just one downpour for maybe 2 hours one day and the temps weren’t quite as hot as forecasted before we left home. …Of course that downpour was spent waiting at IG Skyliner station for them to send buses which we then were walked back to in a torrential downpour with a ponding area so bad the stick/twig filled water was up to my ankles.

The procedure at IG station was of interest. The Skyliner was not moving as we exited the park in the storm. There was a sign it wasn’t running and to take a bus from the front of Epcot. There was a person at the exit holding a sign saying the Skyliner was down. I asked him if they were running the buses and he said “you could see” in a way that screamed “I can’t actually answer that”. We walked past the station to go get a car from BC when we saw a bus and people loading. We raced over but were turned away and told to go to the station. There we saw people lined up and were told they were calling for another bus. They then said we’re running the Skyliner to charge it so don’t get excited.( Turns out “are the buckets running?” is NOT how one determines if the Skyliner is operational.) After almost an hour a bus finally showed and we were escorted down in groups with 2 ECVs first and then the first part of the line. The bus drivers stuffed that bus to the point they were yelling we have more and people were yelling back at them there was no more room. RIV was the first drop point. The bus did the entire route to DHS (Pop & AoA were mentioned as separate drops but I got off at RIV so can’t confirm).
If you try this route do NOT walk to where the buses load- the line is at the Skyliner station where it is then walked down to the bus. The entire experience was a mess. The forecast that day was for bad storms in the afternoon, Disney should have had extra drivers and buses ready to deploy as soon as it started for the front of the park and the back.

 

[kylenne]

The procedure at IG station was of interest. The Skyliner was not moving as we exited the park in the storm. There was a sign it wasn’t running and to take a bus from the front of Epcot. There was a person at the exit holding a sign saying the Skyliner was down. I asked him if they were running the buses and he said “you could see” in a way that screamed “I can’t actually answer that”. We walked past the station to go get a car from BC when we saw a bus and people loading. We raced over but were turned away and told to go to the station. There we saw people lined up and were told they were calling for another bus. They then said we’re running the Skyliner to charge it so don’t get excited.( Turns out “are the buckets running?” is NOT how one determines if the Skyliner is operational.) After almost an hour a bus finally showed and we were escorted down in groups with 2 ECVs first and then the first part of the line. The bus drivers stuffed that bus to the point they were yelling we have more and people were yelling back at them there was no more room. RIV was the first drop point. The bus did the entire route to DHS (Pop & AoA were mentioned as separate drops but I got off at RIV so can’t confirm).
If you try this route do NOT walk to where the buses load- the line is at the Skyliner station where it is then walked down to the bus. The entire experience was a mess. The forecast that day was for bad storms in the afternoon, Disney should have had extra drivers and buses ready to deploy as soon as it started for the front of the park and the back.

This right here is why Skyliner resorts are a no sell for me. Every single time I've been to Epcot in the Skyliner era I have witnessed a cluster like this at least once. I have no idea why they can't get it together at Epcot with their contingency procedures.

 

[PrincessJasmine88]

How are crowds today? Wait times seem pretty low

 

[emmabelle]

I was in Epcot the last 3 nights since we’re staying at BC and it was really crowded through World Showcase. The other lands seemed much better.

Animal Kingdom yesterday morning was good at resort guest rope drop. Got Navi, Safari, Everest and Dinosaur all done by 10am.

Going to MK this morning.

 

[emmabelle]

Today we had Genie+ so we were able to do a bunch of rides. We went to MK until 11am and then I switched focus to Epcot and was able to get Frozen, TT and Soarin for the night. It was a good day for Genie+

 

[mickey916]

Was at the parks 4/10 - 4/18. First couple days days parks were dead, it was glorious. 10/10 would do the week after the week after Easter again, wish we’d started the trip a bit earlier! Crowds surged somewhat over the weekend and dropped down some the following week- although it wasn’t as quiet as those first couple days. Didn’t feel crowds hit crazy level at anytime- but I took Sun 4/14 off as a resort day.

Pretty good weather with just one downpour for maybe 2 hours one day and the temps weren’t quite as hot as forecasted before we left home. …Of course that downpour was spent waiting at IG Skyliner station for them to send buses which we then were walked back to in a torrential downpour with a ponding area so bad the stick/twig filled water was up to my ankles.

The procedure at IG station was of interest. The Skyliner was not moving as we exited the park in the storm. There was a sign it wasn’t running and to take a bus from the front of Epcot. There was a person at the exit holding a sign saying the Skyliner was down. I asked him if they were running the buses and he said “you could see” in a way that screamed “I can’t actually answer that”. We walked past the station to go get a car from BC when we saw a bus and people loading. We raced over but were turned away and told to go to the station. There we saw people lined up and were told they were calling for another bus. They then said we’re running the Skyliner to charge it so don’t get excited.( Turns out “are the buckets running?” is NOT how one determines if the Skyliner is operational.) After almost an hour a bus finally showed and we were escorted down in groups with 2 ECVs first and then the first part of the line. The bus drivers stuffed that bus to the point they were yelling we have more and people were yelling back at them there was no more room. RIV was the first drop point. The bus did the entire route to DHS (Pop & AoA were mentioned as separate drops but I got off at RIV so can’t confirm).
If you try this route do NOT walk to where the buses load- the line is at the Skyliner station where it is then walked down to the bus. The entire experience was a mess. The forecast that day was for bad storms in the afternoon, Disney should have had extra drivers and buses ready to deploy as soon as it started for the front of the park and the back.

We were there 4/8-4/15 and I agree completely the week after the week after Easter is a great time to go. We were in Epcot too during that downpour (the only rain we saw) and took refuge in the American Adventure. Other than that the weather and the wait-times were perfect!

 

[jrsharp21]

Just got back from a four day trip to WDW for work/play. The crowds at MK were awesome all through the trip. On Saturday, 5/18, we started off at Epcot. We had early morning entry and went to to Remy's to knock that out. It took us about an hour between lining up and actually getting done with the ride. The only other thing we had planned for Epcot was LL for Guardians and also a spot in the VQ. So we walked around the park waiting for our turns for Guardians. Epcot definitely seemed crowded that day. We went to eat in the Land Pavilion and Living with the Land was like a 40 minute wait. You know it's crowded when you see that. After we got done at Epcot, we went over to MK around 4pm. Wow, what a difference. No crowds at all. Very low wait times on rides and hardly any lines for food. At 9pm, MK was a ghost town. I took a picture of us walking through Frontierland and there was maybe one other group in the area.

We went over to DHS and AK on Sunday and knocked out all we wanted to do very quickly. So we headed over to Disney Springs for dinner that evening. We got a last minute reservation for Wolfgang Puck's restaurant. Loved it!!!! My wife and I split one of the woodfire pizzas and the mac n cheese with bacon crumbles. Fantastic!!!! And if you are a beer fan, the Orange Crush was delicious! Our waiter, Georgie, was awesome. Now that is what I call top notch service. When we go back, we will definitely be asking for him again.

Monday we back to Epcot after I got out of my conference. We got there around 5pm. It felt like the crowds were definitely at Epcot again, but it wasn't too bad. We got on Frozen and then had dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel. This was our first time eating here. Fantastic food!!! The Alambre de Res was so good. I need to find a replica recipe. After that, we hit up Guardians again and then called it a night. Stopped by Beaches N Cream for a milkshake before heading back to our room at Yacht Club.

Tuesday was our last park day. After I got done with the work conference, we headed over to MK. We arrived around 4pm. Once again, MK felt very empty. I had bought G+ that morning, and Tron LL+. I was stacking LL all day long while at the conference. So we got to the park with about 4 rides stacked up. We whipped through all the rides within the first 2 hours. But after that, G+ was not even needed. The wait times for most rides was less than 15 minutes, except 7 Dwarfs and Space Mountain. As we got closer to the time for fireworks, we decided to go wait in line for 7 Dwarfs. The wait time said 40 minutes. Okay, not bad. So we start walking through the queue and there is no one in line. We ended up walking almost to the front of the line before stopping. Got on the ride in less than 5 minutes. When we got off, we went back in line. The wait time showed 15 minutes at that time. Nope, walked all the way to the front this time around. It was awesome! We headed over to HM next. No one in line at all. In fact, when we got to the entrance doors and stopped at the yellow line, we turned around and there was no one behind us. Empty! When the finally let us in, there were 6 of us. When we got out of the stretching room, there was absolutely no one in the room to get on the doom buggy. Pretty cool. After that we went over to Pirates and pretty much walked all the way to our boat. We did so many other rides this evening because of the lines. Definitely got our money's worth by the time we left at 10pm.

All in all a great trip. Now we countdown until Marathon Weekend in January!

 

[krismom345]

Here now at AOA and having a fantastic trip so far. It is, however, surface-of-the-sun-hot. Wasn’t prepared for fighting off the heat mid day, but we are adjusting.

EPCOT after hours was an absolute blast. GOTGx5! Worth every dollar.

So far, crowds are manageable and in good spirits- no issues at all.

Merch is lacking- my kids having a hard time spending their souvenir money. Super bizarre- it seems like the only thing people buy anymore are loungeflys and mouse ears.

Hoping our week continues to be magical~

 

[xiphoid76]

For some reason decided to start reading this thread from Page 1 - all I can say is Wow. What a fascinating read into a historical time. It may be good to archive this page because it is very interesting to read, but the title of the page as "Reopening Experiences" is a little off, given that the parks opened almost 4 years ago now and there are 992 pages of information on this thread. Still, fascinating read into the day the parks at MK and AK reopened in the summer of 2020.

 

[C&Jx2]

Our trip was May 12-18 and now that we are settled back at home I am ready to report on this lovely Sunday morning while I have my coffee! (This turned out to be a little long, my apologies)

We stayed at Coronado Springs and had my husband's cousin and wife along for the ride. What started as separate vacations of "oh we'll meet up for a meal or two!" turned into a group vacation, which I normally HATE but it was great! We wouldn't have done 1/2 as much without him staying on top of Genie and the planning.


Now, I knew on a Sunday afternoon and being Mother's Day Disney Springs would be crowded, but I was unprepared for the madness. We shopped a little, then had an early dinner at Boathouse. Delicious as always. We headed back to the resort for swimming and sleep to prepare for the week.
Crowds: 8

On to the parks!
(I'll add my crowd level opinions 1-10)

5/13- I woke up and bought Genie+ and then we opened the adjoining doors to our room at 657 to book rides (this would become our morning routine). *I* was able to get a VQ for TRON (group 67) but cousin didn't get it. We LL Space Mountain for around 1030. We waited until 8am to head to the parks to let the initial rope drop group enter. We knew it was a gamble, but it worked out great. Haunted Mansion was a walk on, Big Thunder was about 5mins, Jungle Cruise was one of the longer waits at 25mins, and Pirates was a walk on. We had a snack, did Monster's Inc Laugh Floor and went to Space Mountain. We did Buzz and it shopped around until our boarding group time. We had quite a wait in the VQ and the ride went down for about 10mins. It was a good ride, but SHORT. I love the pre-show though in the glass room! (I won't spoil it).
Crowds: 4

That evening we went to EPCOT. We were able to LL Soarin', we shopped around the World Showcase, and my group did Mission Space (I do NOT ride that one). We stayed for the new nighttime show which I am not a huge fan of and closed out the park with shopping.
Crowds: 6

5/14- Woke up and bought Genie+. Had our morning meeting to coordinate LL and ILL. We bought RIse and I BELIEVE we LL Smuggler's Run. We rope dropped this day and headed into the Star Wars area with the masses. I am not a Star Wars fan, but the theming is great! We went on Smuggler's Run (not a fan) and then we did Rise. WOW what an amazing experience. I can't imagine how it would feel to a big Star Wars fan! ToT was down so we did Indiana Jones and got an anytime LL which we used at ToT right after because it was back up. Has anyone seen the entire Indiana Jones show in the last few years? There is always something off with it! We LL Mickey and Minnie after playing the Genie slots and refreshing a lot, then headed back to the resort for a rest. We went back later that evening for Fanstamic and some Toy Story fun, but we never made it on Slinky Dog! We LL Mania and Swirling Saucers and had some snacks before Fantasminc.
Crowds: 6

5/15- Crazy long EPCOT day. I think we walked like 27K steps this day! We coordinated our LL through the door again while everyone else slept (lucky ducks). We ILL Guardians, LL Ratatouille and did Early Entry to rope drop Frozen. It was POURING. Terrible start to the morning. But we made it onto Frozen in about 20mins, had breakfast, went over to Test Track which had been down but we hung around and got right on after it opened back up. Then the group did Mission Space again (WHY???). We wondered around the World Showcase festival booths then did Ratatouille and returned to the resort for a rest. We went back to EPCOT that evening for dinner at Teppan Edo and did Soarin' again and Living with the Land.
Crowds: 3 (almost no lines for any booths even around lunch time)

5/16- We ILL Flight of Passage, and LL Navi. We did Early Entry and rope dropped Everest where we rode twice back to back with no wait. We had a snack and went to the safari where we waited about 25mins. The animals were so active! We did our ILL at FoP and rode Navi. We love them. It's really disappointing that the park isn't open later year round to see that area at night. We LL Dinosaur and saw It's Tough to Be a Bug before we went back for a nap. Later that day my kids and the cousin went back to HS for the evening. They rode Rise Again (not sure how, I didn't plan that) and ToT, a few other small things and came back.
Crowds: 5

5/17- We split up for the first half of our last day. My husband, children, and I met my family as DS for lunch (they live near Tampa). We did some shopping and eating and the crowds were much better. Then later we went back to MK to see the fireworks and have dinner. I didn't buy Genie+ but did ILL Mine Train and TRON (everyone wanted a second ride) for that evening. We had dinner at the Plaza, did Mine Train, then posted up and saw the fireworks. After that we rode TRON and It's a Small World before ending our trip with sundaes on the walk out.
Crowds: 5

Overall it was a great trip! Crowds and weather were manageable for us and with the cousin nudging me when to book LL we did a lot! We usually take our Orlando trips in June but this week after Spring Break and right before Memorial Day is a nice sweet spot. Genie+ and the ILL were expensive but we've only been going to WDW every few years and won't be back for at least two so we said, "why not?" (husband says a new roof is more important... how rude).

 

[krismom345]

Just finished up on 5 amazing Disney days.

Highs~

• Epcot after hours! Got on Guardians 5 times and had an all around blast- great way to start our trip after travel day.
• Fantastic cast members. Everyone helpful, happy and lots of Disney vibes.
• Walked 10 miles a day x 5 and no blisters or issues. Lots of shoe changes and walking prep before trip for kids to prepare.

Lows~

• we stayed at AOA fam suites and how did I not know they allow dogs in the cars section? We had a very yappy neighbor and it was beyond annoying while trying to sleep
• The heat, OMG the HEAT. I’ve done Aug and it was no less hot. Only difference was no rain to deal with.
• So many rides breaking down! We got evacuated from Pirates and Spaceship Earth! Actually a cool experience (I have backstage pics if anyone interested) but at WDW time is money- and it took a lot of time and made us alter some plans.
• We did the MK post fireworks dessert party- the location is amazing but the food/drink? Meh. They didn’t replenish and it was picked over quickly. Not worth it overall since same time consuming overall.

Best of luck to anyone in the planning process~ I’m exhausted and gonna need a vacation after this vacation.

 

[mickeymom629]

I'm sorry it happened but after reading more details I really don't think DVC was giving you the correct info.

Just finished up on 5 amazing Disney days.

Lows~

• we stayed at AOA fam suites and how did I not know they allow dogs in the cars section? We had a very yappy neighbor and it was beyond annoying while trying to sleep
• The heat, OMG the HEAT. I’ve done Aug and it was no less hot. Only difference was no rain to deal with.
• So many rides breaking down! We got evacuated from Pirates and Spaceship Earth! Actually a cool experience (I have backstage pics if anyone interested) but at WDW time is money- and it took a lot of time and made us alter some plans.
• We did the MK post fireworks dessert party- the location is amazing but the food/drink? Meh. They didn’t replenish and it was picked over quickly. Not worth it overall since same time consuming overall.

Best of luck to anyone in the planning process~ I’m exhausted and gonna need a vacation after this vacation.

Glad you enjoyed your trip but sorry to hear about your 'Lows'! Terrible about the dog barking - that would have ruined the experience for DH and me for sure. We are leaving on Saturday for 7 nights and I'm so concerned about the heat - I had sworn off summer trips long ago but we have APs and trying to squeeze another trip in... I bought neck fans and will bring umbrella. Thanks for your recap!

 

[gottalovepluto]

… stayed at AOA fam suites and how did I not know they allow dogs in the cars section? We had a very yappy neighbor and it was beyond annoying while trying to sleep

Did you complain to the hotel? I ask as this should not have been an issue beyond day 1 if you did as there are rules for pet dogs including “Dogs should not disrupt the quiet enjoyment of other Guests. If the Resort determines that your dog's behavior is objectionable to other Guests or if your dog creates a disturbance, you must immediately make other arrangements to house your dog outside of the Resort at your expense.”

 

[kylenne]

We got evacuated from Pirates and Spaceship Earth! Actually a cool experience (I have backstage pics if anyone interested)

That’s a huge faux pas—CMs specifically tell you not to take photos backstage if they have to take you through there on an evacuation (we were told this when evacuated from Splash via a backstage area a couple years ago). Please do not post them or share them with people.

 

[krismom345]

That’s a huge faux pas—CMs specifically tell you not to take photos backstage if they have to take you through there on an evacuation (we were told this when evacuated from Splash via a backstage area a couple years ago). Please do not post them or share them with people.

That’s why I didn’t post them. No one said not to take photos-

 

[krismom345]

Did you complain to the hotel? I ask as this should not have been an issue beyond day 1 if you did as there are rules for pet dogs including “Dogs should not disrupt the quiet enjoyment of other Guests. If the Resort determines that your dog's behavior is objectionable to other Guests or if your dog creates a disturbance, you must immediately make other arrangements to house your dog outside of the Resort at your expense.”

Yup, I went to front desk and asked about it but was told they couldn’t move us until the following day and we were too exhausted to repack and unpack. They offered nothing else.

 

[kylenne]

That’s why I didn’t post them. No one said not to take photos-

This is a very long standing policy at the parks any time guests are backstage, whether it’s for an evacuation or on a tour. It could have been a newer CM that didn’t tell you, but regardless you were not supposed to do that. CMs can get into a lot of trouble if it was discovered that a guest took photos of backstage areas and they didn’t catch it or say anything. In the socmed age it’s very easy for that photo you innocently share with someone in private to end up online. And we know Disney monitors forums and socmed platforms.