We took a 10 day trip to Disney World and here is what we noticed.
The Parks are opening earlier than posted times. We entered all the parks earlier than posted on two separate occasions in each park.
All of the parks have shortened operating hours. That being said, I did not feel like I was spending less time in the parks or that I wasn't getting enough time at the parks. On a normal Disney visit we would get to the park right at opening. Early afternoon we would head back to the hotel and rest and take a nap. Then we would head back to the park in time for the parade. Right now we just get to the parks when it opens and stay until it closes. After that we head back to the hotel and eat dinner and swim and just relax in general.
Disney is being very cautious about COVID-19 and it made me feel safer.
A temperature check is required before entrance to every park. The temperature check stations are located before the security screening at all entrances to the parks. It is very non-invasive and very quick.
Security check at most of the parks is fast and easy. Right now they are asking that you take out any umbrellas and sometimes they ask for cell phones also. You can leave back packs on and just walk through a scanner. It was so much better than having people rummaging through my bag. The exception to this is Magic Kingdom. They ask you to take any metal out of your bags and then you walk through a metal detector. So not as great.
They have place markers in every queue.
There is also space between queues where possible.
Disney has placed sanitizer before each cue in each queue and after the ride at every attraction.
Masks are mandated everywhere. The only times you can take a mask off are at the relaxation stations and eating when stationary. There are also washing stations throughout the parks.
They have also opened the flap doors on all of the garbage cans so you don't have to touch the germs dirty lids to throw things away. Hopefully that will remain once COVID-19 is over.
All buildings have designated entrance and exit doors to keep people from getting too close to each other.
All over the parks right now there are signs posted reminding everyone about safety guidelines for COVID-19
and every 20 minutes or so PA announcements will come on over the speakers reminding everyone to keep their masks on and wash hands frequently as well as staying apart and covering mouth and nose while sneezing or coughing.
Buses have barriers and assigned seats. If you are staying at a resort then buses are one of the ways to get to and from the parks. Right now the buses are running earlier than the posted schedule. Disney has placed barriers between every 3 or four seats.
The bus drivers are assigning parties to seats for that specific trip and are only taking one cart/wheel chair type device per trip.
The Skyliner is not a good way to get to the parks right now if you want to be there when the gates open.
Ride wait times at all of the parks are shorter than posted. At every park we went to almost without exception ride times were quite a bit shorter than posted times. Test track in EPCOT was posted at 55 minutes and it took us 25 minutes to get through the queue. Frozen was posted 30 minutes and took us 16. It was consistently like this throughout all of the parks.
Interactive elements closed or altered. In all of the parks Disney has temporarily shut down or altered all interactive elements of rides and attractions. All of the interactive elements on the Seven Dwarves Mine Cart ride are turned off and roped off to remind people not to touch them. At test track you can't design your own car. At animal kingdom kids can still do wilderness explorers badges, but they pick up their own badges and some of the sites for them are moved or changed for safety. At Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom all of the shows are cancelled. In the theater where Beauty and the Beast is normally showing they have a band playing at certain times and on Rockin' Rollercoaster the studio scene is not playing for now. Pin Trading is happening, but there are some alterations.
Reservations being accepted for open restaurants, while others are only serving dinner like Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom. If you don't do reservations or planned your trip last minute don't worry. Some quick service also open at every park and have moved to mobile ordering for now. You can see how that works on my YouTube Channel outdoorgirlreviews.
No Fast Passes are being distributed. At this time there are no fast pass lines in any of the parks. Fast pass tickets are not being distributed. This did make for a bit less before hand and in the parks as we did not have to worry about getting fast passes. One perk is that we also got to see parts of many of the ride lines that we have not seen in the past.
Being a pass holder has its perks, but right now the perks are just a little bit better. Right now at the parks and resorts pass holders are getting an extra 30% off. 2020 merchandise is buy one get one free and some packaged candy and sweets are also on sale.
Mini Parades called Cavalcades and seeing characters. Although parades and character meet and greets are cancelled right now there are still ways to get pictures with characters and enjoy the magic of the parades. At various locations around the parks there are places to see and take pictures with characters at a safe distance.
Parades are a no go right now, but you can see small cavalcades in each of the parks. In Animal Kingdom you can see the characters come by in boats while music plays over the speakers. In EPCOT and Hollywood studios the Characters ride in cars or on small floats. In Magic Kingdom right now you can see small portions of the halloween parade as well. You can see some of the cavalcades that we saw HERE.
Our trip to Disney World was still magical and fun and relaxing for all of us despite all of the changes because of COVID-19.
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