Confession Time – The last time I visited the parks at Walt Disney World was Mother’s Day Weekend 2016. My wife and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary and while 2 of our children were tall enough to do the majority of the thrill rides, we stuck to the classics we knew. New Fantasyland was in it’s infancy, there was no Star Wars land, Pandora construction was underway and we tried a Disney Dining Meal Plan and Memory Maker package for the first time.
Since that time, I became an agent (and writer) for Believe Vacations and have only been back to the parks through my articles and the recaps from my teammates. My family started to embrace Disney Cruise Line and had our latest journey on a 7-night trip out of New Orleans in February. I honestly never thought we’d see the parks again. Especially when our current national pandemic closed the parks and reopened with a number of new safety guidelines.
I never thought I’d be writing my own article in the Back to the Parks series but here we are! With a little help from my Believers, my wife and I convinced ourselves to not only test it out for our family but to go down with less than a week on our countdown. So needless to say, we didn’t have to think about it – We were ready and here is our story!
What parks did you visit and when were the dates? We drove from Birmingham, AL to Walt Disney World starting at 2 AM July 29th, visited the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom and returned home August 2nd.
What made you risk going back so soon? Some of my fellow agents were testing the waters and posting in our group page and on their personal Instagram pages. I couldn’t get over the low wait times. I knew there were no characters or dining plans or fireworks or Fastpasses. But we heard over and over it was safe and worth it. Since March of this year, we’ve just lived in a world of negativity. We needed some positives and distractions from all going on across the world and our country. So with 3 weeks to go before school, we said, “Let’s go!”
Did you stay on the grounds somewhere? Since this was the trip we never thought would happen, we lived by the mantra “Try New Things.” Normally, we are value resort residents but we went with Caribbean Beach for the first time. What a great choice! The resort opened back up the day we arrived after being closed for a while. So we were the first ones back in our room for months! And with the Skyliner flying directly to Hollywood Studios and on to EPCOT, we were right in the middle of the preferred mode of transportation.
What modes of transportation did you use to get around? We drove our sweet minivan into the resort, to Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf and to Disney Springs the first night. We took the buses to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. We flew the Skyliner over to Hollywood Studios and to Pop Century. And of course, we jumped on the Monorail for a loop!
Was there a certain ticket/package you purchased and what was the process of purchasing (different or the same)? We did purchase an agent room rate and made sure we had a 5th sleeper. My youngest loved it! For tickets, we had to purchase 3-days one-day tickets and then we made our park reservations – MK Thursday, HS Friday, AK Saturday.
What were the new guidelines you had to follow (masks, could not do this, etc.)? The only times you could have your mask off throughout WDW was 1) in your room, 2) inside the gates of the pool area, 3) when you were actively eating or drinking in a seated or standing still position. At both the resort and the quick service locations in the parks, you had to do mobile ordering from your phone. I hope this stays! Being able to order and pick up your food within minutes or later after some attractions was awesome. Before entering the parks, you went through the no-touch infrared temperature screening and “relaxed” security. They still are very serious with their job but these days, they’d rather not have to touch your stuff. Every attraction queue, quick service queue, entrance to a shop, etc. had distancing markers of 6 feet. For popular stores like World of Disney at Disney Springs, if the line was long enough, you had to get into a virtual queue where they would text you when it was time to enter the store.
How was wearing a mask in Florida in the summer? Even without the mask, being in Florida in July was always the part we dreaded. Adding in a mask ALMOST made us cancel. But once you got down there, you really did get used to it. Our youngest fumbled with his mask a lot but the other 4 of us had zero problems. Test out various masks before you go and bring plenty. Wash them every night in the room and switch them out a few times during the day in the parks. Disposable ones are easier to breath in but some of the filtered versions will stick onto your face more during the thrill rides.
How was the crowd size? The first real indication that the crowds were low was our first dinner at a family favorite, T-Rex in Disney Springs. Normally, you need a reservation but we walked right up and were seated immediately. Inside the parks, pictures will never do it justice and non-Disney people will always complain if any attraction is posted at having a 30 minute wait. But when 30 minutes for a major thrill attraction is posted, seasoned Disney pros know to get in line because it will never be that low again. Every park is open for 10 (since we came home, now 9) hours a day. Regardless of what time the park opens, the hours of 12-3 appeared to have “normal” crowds even though it was nowhere close. But anything before Noon and after 3 was an eerie feeling of “where is everyone?” You would think, “Maybe everyone is just at another part of the park” but then you would check the wait times on My Disney Experience and there would not be many ride over 20 minutes! When we checked into Caribbean Beach, I don’t think we saw more than 50 families the whole day. When we left the pool for the final time Saturday night, there were probably 100 families in the area, all socially distanced of course!
Were there any attractions/experiences that were closed due to COVID? I’m not going to lie but I did miss 3 – Enchanted Tales with Belle (my son was the Beast one year!), Frozen Sing-a-Long (I always tell parents you’ll appreciate the dark humor) and Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor (my brother was once That Guy!). Carousel of Progress was closed due to mechanical problems (my heart was crushed) and the People Mover has since been declared temporarily closed. But the attractions that keep people coming back, or in our case, the attractions we have never had the chance to experience were all open and running pretty regularly. You may notice though that throughout the day, attractions will be posted as Temporarily Closed. That’s code for, we are disinfecting ya’lls nastiness so no one gets the `Rona. But that would last about 15 minutes and begin operations again. Character experiences were modified but as you can see, the Storm Troopers still managed to make for a great photo op!
What was the attitude like of the employees? Everyone we met never lost the Disney magic that makes the Cast Members the best. All our servers at the restaurants were wonderful, the cast members onboarding and offboarding the attractions or even during the attraction (looking at you Rise of the Resistance!) were great. But there were a few I need to single out:
Michelle – Property Manager of Caribbean Beach Resort, who waited 4 months just to greet our children as her first guests in a long time. She gave all 3 a special Skyliner pin and made our first day very special.
Kevin – I still have no idea what instrument this dude was playing in Galaxy’s Edge but he would play Star Wars music the entire time but if he saw a guest dressed in a certain shirt, he may play a song to see if you would react. Like me, wearing my Zoot from the Muppets shirt, and Kevin, playing the theme to the Muppet Show! Well done!
The custodial staff for Animal Kingdom – As the first group of guests were heading into the park and towards Flight of Passage, this entire group formed 2 socially distanced lines ala a soccer tunnel and clapped, waved, blew bubbles and welcomed everyone back. You could tell this was genuine and not a forced customer service ploy and it really did set the tone for the day!
What was the attitude like of the guests? Throughout this pandemic, at local restaurants, grocery stores, places of worship, parks and in between, I always said that if people just respected the rules, all would be great. The rules of wearing a mask in these places are what makes people go crazy; it’s the downright disrespect of the rules. If a gas station has a sign, No Shirt No Shoes No Service, why shouldn’t Mask Required be shown the same respect? At Disney, everyone played by the rules. No one had to say “put your mask up over your nose princess!” The families policed themselves with masks and distancing. In fact, the most telling sign I saw was a young lady (maybe 14) who was going to walk down to the beach area in the Jamaican section of our resort. The beach couldn’t have been more that 50 yards from her door. But she saw us coming down the pathway and immediately apologized and turned around because she forgot her mask! Because of respecting the rules, the mask and other regulations were great and the attitudes were wonderful!
What advice do you have for post COVID times at theme parks? It’s not going to be for everyone so know your own family. Extend grace and patience as everyone has to learn new guidelines but keep the commitment to safety, courtesy, entertainment and efficiency that Walt stressed. If you go, look at Disney for the first time all over again. Try new things. Actually stop and watch Walt’s World go by. Don’t feel like you are settling or not getting your money’s worth if you are at a different resort, enjoying different attractions or enjoying new places to eat. Embrace not having to get up extra early or staying up really late for extra magic hours. Use that time to rest, swim, enjoy the resort or just go to bed.
Did you ever feel unsafe? Crowded and a little eyebrow raising at Disney Springs and on the buses for sure. But nothing that made us want to run away and back into our safety nest of our car or room. Never inside the parks, at the pool or strolling the resort.
Do you think they opened too early or was it fine for what it was worth? Not only do I think they opened at the perfect time, there are parts of this I wish would stay forever. The social distancing in line, the mobile ordering and (hold on here) no Fast Passes. I enjoy FP as much as everyone else but they don’t allow you to stop and enjoy what’s going on around you. Standing in a limited wait queue is a good way to slow down and get out of the sun. And it’ll never happen but limiting the crowd size definitely gave us our money’s worth.
But I do see a growing need for parades, fireworks and some character meet and greets. Especially for people who have never been and always saw the promotions that had children enjoying those specific experiences. Seasoned veterans may not care for them as much these days but new people would want those experiences.
Anything else I forgot? Is it still magical? Yes! Is it still safe? Yes! Would you recommend me going next week? Yes! It’ll feel like you’re home where you belong!
