Everywhere we go today things are “different”– and the same holds true for one of our favorite destinations, the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. While things might be a little different the magic is still alive and well, in a safe way of course! Check out our recent experience!
What is new with Disney transportation
Magical Express and all theme park transportation buses have seats blocked off to keep families separate from one another. Disney has also installed plastic barriers to separate seat groupings on the theme park transportation buses. During park opening and closing hours, the bus lines were pretty decent due to only operating about half full, so I would recommend getting to the parks and leaving the parks a bit early if you want to avoid the lines. Parks were also allowing guests to enter earlier than posted opening times. We always try to make the first bus to the parks, getting us there close to an hour before opening time. We were let into the parks, and able to head to rides when we arrived. Some rides, however, were not operating until the posted opening time. Other rides were running as guests arrived.
Bring an extra mask to the parks!
Face mask are absolutely mandatory while on Disney property. Cast Members are taking mask orders seriously and will approach visitors that they see wearing a mask incorrectly or not at all. The parks have designated Relaxation Stations where visitors can sit and rest without their masks on for a bit. Also, if you are staying at a Disney Resort, you are allowed to be maskless while on the pool decks. During our visit, pretty much everyone we saw was complying with mask orders, but we did see a handful of times where Cast Members approached individuals who were not following guidelines. I would recommend bringing an extra mask or two during your visits to the parks. One of our children broke his disposable mask during one of our park days and also it is not fun breathing through a soaking wet mask after you have ridden Splash Mountain or Kali River Rapids, just ask my husband!
Mobile Quick Service Ordering
Mobile Quick Service ordering is amazing! We absolutely loved being able to order our food in advance of arriving at restaurants and not having to wait in lines. You simply open the My Disney Experience App, select your quick service restaurant, the time window you would like to get your food, add your food to your order and pay. We were able to pay with our Disney Gift Cards, however, the app does not save the card information, so we took a picture of our card so that we would have the information with us without having to carry the card around. When you arrive at the restaurant, you click that you are there, and within a minute or two, your food is ready! So simple and fast! Our first night on property we were starving after traveling all day. We ordered dinner while on Magical Express as we got close to our Resort. We dropped our bags in our room, walked over to the quick service restaurant on property, selected that we were on location and our food was ready by the time we found a table and grabbed napkins.
Lines, Lines Everywhere
The rides are being sanitized regularly, which takes time, and they are not being run at full capacity. Due to this, even though there are less visitors in the parks than normal, the crowd level felt very similar to our last visit, pre Covid. The line for every ride had markings on the ground stating “Please Wait Here” to keep ride goers socially distant from one another. Disney has also installed plexiglass barriers where necessary to minimize individual contact. Also, any interactive features that were used to entertain visitors while waiting, have been suspended to try and limit people touching things. The lines look intimidating, but don’t let them scare you, unless they had stopped a ride for cleaning, the lines were consistently moving and less of a wait that what was posted in the Disney Experience App.
There is still Magic to be found!
Parades were happening almost constantly in the parks, we saw multiple every day. We also saw several characters hanging out in parks, but the characters would be out of reach of visitors (up on a stage, on a balcony, etc.). There were definitely only a limited number of characters to be seen, but you could tell Disney was trying to figure out how to have character experiences in the parks while social distancing.
Skyliner is the perfect ride for a park break!
Our family’s favorite break from the parks was the Skyliner. We rode the Skyliner on both our Epcot and Hollywood Studios days. It was the longest ride in the parks, and man that breeze felt nice! On our Hollywood Studios day, it was a great break to ride over to Boardwalk and grab lunch away from the crowded park!
Extra Thoughts
Temperature screenings are being conducted at multiple locations throughout Disney. At the entrance to all Parks, table service restaurants, and many transportation locations, we had our foreheads checked for any signs of a temperature.
Sanitizing stations are setup at all rides and any high contact areas throughout the Parks and Resorts. There were a handful of times that a station we tried to use was out of antibacterial, but they are so frequently located, we just grabbed some at the next location. I also carried a small bottle of antibacterial with me during the day, but we rarely used it.
Stores are limiting the number of visitors. Stores that have more than one entrance, would close all entrances down and force guests to enter through one set of doors. The only place we had to wait in a line to enter a store was at Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios and the large Disney Store at Disney Springs. If you are wanting to shop, do so before it gets close to time for the parks to close. During the last hour that parks are opening, lines formed at every store as people wanted to buy merchandise on their way home.
Cast Members were happy to see us, and we saw Cast Members everywhere throughout the Parks. Disney is trying very hard to make your visit as magical as possible, but things are different right now. We loved our visit and are glad we went. We did not leave feeling like we had not gotten our monies worth or had a lesser experience, it was just a different experience.
About the Author:
Lindsay Obernuefemann, Global Travel Advisor
Lindsay developed a passion for traveling while spending two years living in Paris with her husband and infant son. While living in France, she traveled over much of Europe and developed her love of history and sightseeing. A self-declared foodie, Lindsay loves finding local foodie gems and immersing herself in the cultures she is visiting. Lindsay has also lived in Newfoundland and currently resides in Houston, TX with her husband, two boys and amazing dog Millie. Always looking for an adventure, Lindsay and her family have visited much of the Caribbean, Mexico and the Hawaiian Islands. One of Lindsay’s favorite family vacations is visiting Orlando to enjoy Disneyworld and Universal Studios. Few things make her as happy as sporting mouse ears down Main Street or casting spells in Diagon Alley.
