So I wanted to make a thread for all "trip reports" just so it can be easily found and I guess people can monitor the situation of wanting to go or not.
I want to say that if you are a major park hopper, it may not be a good idea to go. I am a major park hopper and not being able to park hop at all kinda made it rough. Especially since the parks are basically all doable within a span of 4 - 5 hours, and that's just half the day.
I am not sure how kids will deal with the masks, as an adult it was sometimes rough to be out in the blistering heat, let alone a child. In my experience, the process of just finding a place to stand to drink water or eat food was just a hassle that basically we only would drink/eat in quick service sit down places. I know it may sound bad, but since you can't walk while eating/drinking, it was just what we did. Sometimes it was just hard to find a shaded place that wasn't taken up.
You may want to bring a UV umbrella, it worked very well for me in the Florida heat and is easily stowable.
The precautions Disney is taking are pretty solid, but the crowds will of course sometimes be rough. There's not a whole lot they can do and obviously there will be people who cheat the system. I.e kids not wanting to wear masks or people just not following distancing/disregarding rules for safety.
Another thing is mobile ordering; if you do not have a smart phone or a way to mobile order, it will be much harder for you. Mobile ordering is now how food is being prepared and you will have to prove you have no other way to order. There are no signs or anything regarding paying by cash, it's practically a last resort option.
August 12 - 16th
Stayed at the POP, rooms were nice and people *mostly* followed distancing. Became harder when people wanted to get food around dinner time (lots of crowds in the lobby). The Gondola system though was pretty backed up, and the fact you have to take it to HS or EPCOT kinda sucks, 45+ minutes to get to the parks when it was backed up. Would rather use the bus, but this option was not allowed.
Busing situation obviously was limited, basically the chairs across from you would be your party and the bus has a shield for other guests. Not many people can board the bus and obviously no one can stand while riding. Nonetheless, transportation was pretty good to and from the parks.
Now the parks:
HS: Went on Wednesday, the 12th. Crowds were actually not too bad at all. Many of the rides were walk on, and the MRR was about an hour wait when the park opened. Super hot though, so bring an umbrella. Not sure where the "Relaxation Station" was in this park, but I wish the signs for the Relaxation Stations were posted throughout the park.
Not being able to just drink or eat while walking makes it a harder situation too. As much as I wanted to stop by certain places, it was just really difficult. More of less finding a decent shaded place was hard or just not in the way of crowds. We did basically the whole park in roughly about 4 to 5 hours including MRR, Sunset Boulevard, and the Muppets Show.
MK: I went two days, the 13th (Thursday) and the 16th (Sunday). I really loved how when the park opened, it was empty, practically dead. Every ride I went on for about the first two hours was basically walk on. I rode Splash, Pirates 2 times and then the Haunted Mansion within a span of like an hour or hour and a half. After that plenty of other rides were walk on, like the Under the Sea Little Mermaid Ride or even Peter Pan's Flight. The crowds started coming in and then some rides were more like 15 - 1 hour in time. But other than that, it was pretty nice. Within about 4 or 5 hours we had rode most of the big rides both times, and left once the crowds got heavier.
AK: I went on Friday the 14th, and I have to say, IMO this probably the best park right now because the trees have nice shade to combat the heat and the crowds/lines were pretty low. I was able to pretty much hop on every ride with very little to no wait. Even later in the day the crowds weren't terrible. Scenery is great with no one there. Did the whole park in basically like 4 hours.
EPCOT: I went on Saturday, the 15th, and for me this is probably the one park I really just wasn't so sure about how I feel. I love EPCOT, it's my favorite park ever but honestly right now, it barely even feels like it's worth the visit. A huge portion of the park is closed for construction and the best part to me (World Showcase) is just jumbled up with a ton of people drinking and practically throwing away any sort of social distancing. It was definitely the worst crowd, and almost in a way shocked me because of how many people were there. I know, I went on the weekend but there were still by far the most people I had seen in a park. I honestly really wonder why the Food and Wine Festival was added, I know it's an experience but I wonder about the safety.
The first two hours of EPCOT was glorious, to practically go around the World Showcase as it was empty was really cool.
DS: I went on Friday, the 14th and Sunday, the 16th. I would say in terms of crowds, it's pretty bad. I saw a lot of kids without mask and their parents not doing anything about it. The World of Disney was crazy crowded, to a point it was hard to move around anyone at all, that social distancing was just hard to do.
Overall:
It was fun, but as a park hopper, only basically doing 4 or 5 hours in a park and then going back to your room for the rest of the day was kinda bland. I went to some of the hotels to at least do something else, but I really wish park hopping was allowed. Especially as an AP member it really brings down the value of the ticket when I can't even go to different parks at all. Sure you could go back to the park but attendance didn't really die down too much.
Do I think it was a good trip? Yes, it is a once in a lifetime experience, but without everything that makes Disney "Disney" I can't say I am too content with the trip. I love the rides, they're my favorite part, but having literally nothing else to do (there are just a lot of things closed, like shops or restaurants) it just feels weird.
Do not look at Youtube videos and think no one is there, because there are more than you may realize.
I want to say that if you are a major park hopper, it may not be a good idea to go. I am a major park hopper and not being able to park hop at all kinda made it rough. Especially since the parks are basically all doable within a span of 4 - 5 hours, and that's just half the day.
I am not sure how kids will deal with the masks, as an adult it was sometimes rough to be out in the blistering heat, let alone a child. In my experience, the process of just finding a place to stand to drink water or eat food was just a hassle that basically we only would drink/eat in quick service sit down places. I know it may sound bad, but since you can't walk while eating/drinking, it was just what we did. Sometimes it was just hard to find a shaded place that wasn't taken up.
You may want to bring a UV umbrella, it worked very well for me in the Florida heat and is easily stowable.
The precautions Disney is taking are pretty solid, but the crowds will of course sometimes be rough. There's not a whole lot they can do and obviously there will be people who cheat the system. I.e kids not wanting to wear masks or people just not following distancing/disregarding rules for safety.
Another thing is mobile ordering; if you do not have a smart phone or a way to mobile order, it will be much harder for you. Mobile ordering is now how food is being prepared and you will have to prove you have no other way to order. There are no signs or anything regarding paying by cash, it's practically a last resort option.
August 12 - 16th
Stayed at the POP, rooms were nice and people *mostly* followed distancing. Became harder when people wanted to get food around dinner time (lots of crowds in the lobby). The Gondola system though was pretty backed up, and the fact you have to take it to HS or EPCOT kinda sucks, 45+ minutes to get to the parks when it was backed up. Would rather use the bus, but this option was not allowed.
Busing situation obviously was limited, basically the chairs across from you would be your party and the bus has a shield for other guests. Not many people can board the bus and obviously no one can stand while riding. Nonetheless, transportation was pretty good to and from the parks.
Now the parks:
HS: Went on Wednesday, the 12th. Crowds were actually not too bad at all. Many of the rides were walk on, and the MRR was about an hour wait when the park opened. Super hot though, so bring an umbrella. Not sure where the "Relaxation Station" was in this park, but I wish the signs for the Relaxation Stations were posted throughout the park.
Not being able to just drink or eat while walking makes it a harder situation too. As much as I wanted to stop by certain places, it was just really difficult. More of less finding a decent shaded place was hard or just not in the way of crowds. We did basically the whole park in roughly about 4 to 5 hours including MRR, Sunset Boulevard, and the Muppets Show.
MK: I went two days, the 13th (Thursday) and the 16th (Sunday). I really loved how when the park opened, it was empty, practically dead. Every ride I went on for about the first two hours was basically walk on. I rode Splash, Pirates 2 times and then the Haunted Mansion within a span of like an hour or hour and a half. After that plenty of other rides were walk on, like the Under the Sea Little Mermaid Ride or even Peter Pan's Flight. The crowds started coming in and then some rides were more like 15 - 1 hour in time. But other than that, it was pretty nice. Within about 4 or 5 hours we had rode most of the big rides both times, and left once the crowds got heavier.
AK: I went on Friday the 14th, and I have to say, IMO this probably the best park right now because the trees have nice shade to combat the heat and the crowds/lines were pretty low. I was able to pretty much hop on every ride with very little to no wait. Even later in the day the crowds weren't terrible. Scenery is great with no one there. Did the whole park in basically like 4 hours.
EPCOT: I went on Saturday, the 15th, and for me this is probably the one park I really just wasn't so sure about how I feel. I love EPCOT, it's my favorite park ever but honestly right now, it barely even feels like it's worth the visit. A huge portion of the park is closed for construction and the best part to me (World Showcase) is just jumbled up with a ton of people drinking and practically throwing away any sort of social distancing. It was definitely the worst crowd, and almost in a way shocked me because of how many people were there. I know, I went on the weekend but there were still by far the most people I had seen in a park. I honestly really wonder why the Food and Wine Festival was added, I know it's an experience but I wonder about the safety.
The first two hours of EPCOT was glorious, to practically go around the World Showcase as it was empty was really cool.
DS: I went on Friday, the 14th and Sunday, the 16th. I would say in terms of crowds, it's pretty bad. I saw a lot of kids without mask and their parents not doing anything about it. The World of Disney was crazy crowded, to a point it was hard to move around anyone at all, that social distancing was just hard to do.
Overall:
It was fun, but as a park hopper, only basically doing 4 or 5 hours in a park and then going back to your room for the rest of the day was kinda bland. I went to some of the hotels to at least do something else, but I really wish park hopping was allowed. Especially as an AP member it really brings down the value of the ticket when I can't even go to different parks at all. Sure you could go back to the park but attendance didn't really die down too much.
Do I think it was a good trip? Yes, it is a once in a lifetime experience, but without everything that makes Disney "Disney" I can't say I am too content with the trip. I love the rides, they're my favorite part, but having literally nothing else to do (there are just a lot of things closed, like shops or restaurants) it just feels weird.
Do not look at Youtube videos and think no one is there, because there are more than you may realize.
