How the Disney World Experience Has Changed
OK, we know. It’s the “new normal”, and some of you are curious what it’s like to visit the parks in Orlando. Are they crowded? Do they feel safe? How about wearing masks most of the day? Since Disney World re-opened on July 11th, we were able to check out all four parks so let us tell you a little bit of how it was like to be there!
Let’s just get this out of the way. You need a confirmed park pass reservation for the day and you cannot park hop. This means you can only visit one park per day.
We Visited all Four Disney Parks.
Here’s What we Learned!
Entrance: Everyone must undergo a temperature screening. We saw signs and directions for the screening as soon as we approached the Disney park entrance. Unlike before, you don’t need to put your bags down and have them manually checked by the security staff. You can keep the bag with you but take any metal objects out of your bag and pockets, place them in the bin and you should be good to go!
Physical Distancing: We definitely felt very safe while exploring around the park. There are distance markers on the ground and we found that (most) guests did a great job complying with this!
Face Coverings: Face masks/coverings are required and enforced without exception at all Disney World parks (2yrs old and above). But if you’re feeling a little warm behind your mask, no worries! There are designated “Relaxation Zones” within the Disney parks and you can take them off while eating or drinking, as long as you are stationary. We found this a little challenging because of the heat and humidity, but you can take several breaks, go to a store to cool off or sit down and have a cold drink so you can take your mask off!
Cleanliness: Disney cast members are doing a great job maintaining the parks and making sure all high-touch areas and rides are cleaned and sanitized. Hand sanitizers stations are EVERYWHERE so you won’t need to worry about that!
Rides/Lines: The wait times have been a lot shorter for Disney rides that take over an hour to get on before (such as FOP, SDMT, Slinky Dog). Some attractions were modified (like Disney’s Haunted Mansion) to avoid guests gathering in one small, closed space.
Dining: We were not permitted to enter a quick-service dining location without a confirmed order so we needed to use the Mobile Order function on the MDE App. For sit down/table service restaurants, no walk ins are allowed so make sure that you book your Disney dining beforehand!
Character Interactions: This is one of the things we truly enjoy so we’re very happy to see that MORE Disney characters are visible throughout the day and in different spots in the parks. There are impromptu parades on Main Street (Magic Kingdom), Sunset Blvd (Hollywood Studios) and even in World Pavilion (Epcot). At Animal Kingdom, characters also spontaneously appear on a boat traveling along the Discovery River. So fun!!
Great Photo Op: Going to Disney right now is a photographer’s dream. Since Disney Parks have limited capacity, we were able to snap some shots of Park icons (such as the Cinderella Castle and Millennium Falcon) without people in the background! Yay!
We want to share a lot more but this space is not enough to really tell you how much we still ENJOY going to the Disney parks even with all these new guidelines! Disney World has always been our favorite place in Orlando and it’ll stay that way. It may feel quite a bit different, but we feel super safe in the parks and the experience is still as magical as it always has been!
Happy vacationing!
Joysa, Disney Blogger and VillaKey Lead Operations Associate