Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

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SuperSaver
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Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by SuperSaver »

To those who have visited WDW since March 2020, what were your experiences?

We are planning on using airline credits and 2020 WDW passes for this summer. We are fully vaccinated and comfortable with the risks.

Any thoughts on the crowds? transportation using WDW buses? Wearing masks?

I'm well-familiar with all the new changes, but would like a more balanced view than what's posted on the DIS blogs.

Are you glad you visited?
techiegirl
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by techiegirl »

We bought tickets for this summer. We’ll be fully vaccinated by then. I’m curious to hear what others experience is.
camroontheprune
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by camroontheprune »

We went to Hollywood Studios in February. At the time, mask-wearing was enforced, as was social distancing (in lines, generally). Things seemed pretty clean. I imagine they were close to COVID-capacity, and while it was nowhere near as crowded as it would otherwise have been, certain rides still had lengthy lines (e.g, slinky dog roller coaster, the main star wars attractions). We had no problems, and I don't like germs. I was pretty impressed. Didn't ride buses though, or bother with restaurants (it's my understanding reservations were a little harder to come by).
anil686
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by anil686 »

Went to Disneyworld between Christmas and New Years - stayed at contemporary resort. Our family goes every year but missed the pandemic summer and so went at the holidays. Park restricted to 30% and was noticeable with respect to lack of crowds (usual) at holiday time. We had a blast (but we are WDW people). As far as some of the particulars...
Masks were enforced everywhere except while eating and by eating they meant stationary eating. Regularly enforced via cast members and those who did not comply had what appeared to be more senior cast members discussing mask wearing. They had particular rules for masks - no neck gaiters and everybody needed them. It was not summer hot (only about 70 degrees) - so take it for what it was worth.

Dining - really well done IMO. Lots of space between tables, tables clearly marked. Plexiglass up between booths. Mobile order is now a thing at all quick services in the park. In fact, they limit seating to those with food in the quick service restaurants and so you need to mobile order and then show your order is ready to go into the restaurant.

No fast pass - reminded me of the early 1990s - waiting in lines. Lines looked very long but moved quick due to the 6 foot placards spacing on the ground

Buses had groups of 4 seats all throughout the bus and were at 50% capacity. The groups were assigned a number - for example #12 was typically the back row and that had 4 seats - there were plexiglass dividers between the groups of numbers. The bus driver asked how many and told your party a number which is where you would go sit.

Indoor attractions were closed - auditoriums - like Hall of Presidents, Country Bear Jamboree, Tiki Room and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I don’t know if those re-opened.

I don’t know what the crowd restrictions will be with the summer coming up - it was very enjoyable with the limited crowds at the holidays but with more crowds and still 6 foot spacing at rides, lines can be even longer. Also the weather was better at Christmas than in the summer - JMO though.

All in all - had a great time. Hope that helps....
RedClay
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by RedClay »

I went to Epcot in early April 2021 during spring break and everything felt very safe. We didn't go on many rides, but from what I could tell, everything seemed to be open. Mask compliance was 99% and I never felt unsafe. You are only allowed to remove your mask while stationary and eating or drinking. I understand they were operating at 35% capacity, but it still seemed pretty crowded to me. We felt the most nervous when we were on a full capacity plane...took a while to get used to being so close to that many people again! I'd recommend it and would do it again.
Last edited by RedClay on Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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willthrill81
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by willthrill81 »

Masked up in the Florida humidity? No thanks. We love DW but refuse to go between the months of May and September expressly for that purpose, even without masks.
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by Vettepilot »

We went twice, in July 2020 and again in September, 2020.

The July trip (two days after reopening) was amazing. There were very, very few people there. The rides had almost no wait (5 minutes, max). It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It felt like having the parks to ourselves.

The September trip was good, but very different. The parks were much busier. We waited more than 45 minutes on a couple of rides. With a large crowd, the distancing measures begin to be a bit more taxing.

Masking was near 100% both times. Staff were very friendly, though their jobs are clearly less enjoyable with the addition of correcting people for mask compliance. I should note that masks do make the Florida heat more difficult to bear. If you have small kids, many of the character-based experiences are either shut down or altered in ways that make them less enjoyable or interactive. There are fewer opportunities for the kids to see the magical side of Disney.

We haven't been in 2021, so I can't speak to the more recent experience.
ActiveIndexer
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by ActiveIndexer »

Wife and I were supposed to go the day WDW closed due to covid. We would go now, but know some people who have gone and advised walking around all day with a mask on in Florida is uncomfortable. If you can deal with that, everything else sounded fine.
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djpeteski
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by djpeteski »

Former Annual Pass Holder here (ours just expired due to some personal reasons). We went to WDW a lot during the pandemic took the grand kids, and adult children. PM with any specific questions. We went to all 4 parks, did the Epcot eating fairs, ate at restaurants onsite and at the Springs.

For me, the worst thing is the way people who are Anti-Covid-19 policies (like wearing masks) treat employees who are just enforcing policy dictated by management. On several occasions Disney workers were struck by people unhappy with being told to wear their mask. I hate that crap.

When the parks first opened after the pandemic, they were pretty empty. No however, they are crowded again. Lines are physically much longer because of social distancing. For example the Avatar ride line often stretches out of that land and down the walk way to Africa. The ride for Frozen (in Epcot) often stretches into China.

Wearing a mask is medium strict. They now allow you to remove the mask for pictures which was not the case previously. Walking around you have to wear them, sitting and eating/drinking not so much.

For some reason Disney Springs is forget about it crowded it is very difficult to get reservations to their restaurants, but in park restaurants seem to be a bit easier. We were able to get a reservation for Le Cellier which is a difficult one to get.

Orlando, in general, is pretty wide open. Some corporations still limit dining to 50%, but that is the exception rather than the rule. Most businesses require you to wear a mask. There are hand sanitizer stations everywhere.

Really it is pretty normal except having to wear a mask. Oh, and don't worry you can buy Disney themed masks.

One of the best things you can do is to bring a bunch of water (true anytime) and an extra mask or two to change out during the day.
gogreen
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by gogreen »

SuperSaver wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 7:34 pm To those who have visited WDW since March 2020, what were your experiences?

We are planning on using airline credits and 2020 WDW passes for this summer. We are fully vaccinated and comfortable with the risks.

Any thoughts on the crowds? transportation using WDW buses? Wearing masks?

I'm well-familiar with all the new changes, but would like a more balanced view than what's posted on the DIS blogs.

Are you glad you visited?
Depends on the park.
Magic Kingdom (FL, Nov 2020) - horrible A lot of things were messed up, park wasn't prepared for COVID guidelines and 2 park emps yelled at my 3 years old that his mask is too big for him and he needs to readjust it.
Universal (FL, Dec 2020) - brilliant. A lot of thinking process was put into adjusting park to COVID guidelines, everybody was very friendly, we got such a great experience that I bought tickets for few more days
chicagoan23
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by chicagoan23 »

We visited Magic Kingdom with a large group (20+) in January. It was fine, but not "magical" like our other Disney trips were. The parades were just characters driving past and waving, there were limited food options, no meeting with the princesses for my young daughter, few photo opportunities (which you don't really want anyway because everyone is masked), no fireworks, etc. Honestly it felt like a trip to just another amusement park, not a Disney World trip.

If your goal is to ride as many rides as possible then I think it would be OK to go. The crowds weren't bad, the park was safe, Disney went above and beyond for cleanliness and enforcing the rules, masks weren't an issue, etc. However, if you want your family to have that "magical" trip then I would wait until next year, if possible.
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Topic Author
SuperSaver
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by SuperSaver »

Thanks for replies.

What were using resort pools like? I heard you now have to make a reservation to use them.

I’ve heard that using mobile orders need to be done 30min in advance.

Any success in getting into the park up to an hour before official opening?

And most importantly, did your children still enjoy going? I understand that some of the magic is gone. But I figure wearing a mask outside in the summer in the middle of Disney World is better than doing it in your hometown
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wabbott
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by wabbott »

Spent a week there in September and then again last week. There was a noticeable difference in the cast members - they were much more stressed during our September trip. They still enforce mask wearing, but as was noted upthread, you can take them off for pics. Also, they were not as nearly paranoid about social distancing in lines, on rides, etc. There is chatter on Disney blogs that masks may go away this summer. One of the better blogs to keep up with things is https://wdwnt.com/

We stayed at Caribbean Beach to take advantage of the Skyliner. Quite handy to get to EPCOT and Hollywood. Bus transportation to the Magic Kingdom was problematic, with a couple of hour-long waits. Buses to Animal Kingdom were timely. There were no Early Magic Hours as was the practice pre-pandemic, but the parks would usually open up 30 to 45 minutes prior to published opening times. We made rope drop a couple of mornings, but to do that you need to be at the bus stop no latter than 6:30 AM without fail.

There were several pools at Caribbean Beach and they were never crowded. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

The new Star Wars ride is quite difficult to schedule. You have to log on to the Disney app at either 7 am or 1 pm to get a slot. We managed to get a slot, then right as we were about to board, the ride shut down - the unscheduled outages seem to be more frequent than in the past. The chatter on the blogs is that WDW has skimped on preventive maintenance to save cash.

We didn't see any long waits for mobile orders. We had breakfast one morning in the Star Wars area and got our mobile order within 5 to 10 minutes, and the area was pretty busy.

Kids seemed to be having a good time. Of course there were the occasional family dust-ups, but no more than we saw two years ago pre-pandemic.

If you've never been before, you must be aware how physically demanding is WDW. Count on standing in line anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on the ride and time of day. I cannot emphasize how important an early start is. Also, miles of walking is involved. A couple of months of a pre-trip walking/exercise program is highly advisable.

One thing noticeable in the three trips we've made in the last two years is that the dining experiences have exceeded expectations. The food was great, the presentation good, and the service was timely. We had been to WDW several times in the 80s and once in the 90s and don't recall the food being as good as it is now, especially the desserts. The Liberty Tree Tavern's Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake is to die for.
SethJane42
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by SethJane42 »

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grogu
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by grogu »

Following up on what wabbott said, there are a number of Disney World blogs and discussion groups where you can ask all sorts of trip-planning questions and get detailed feedback from experts and first-time visitors.

I think the most helpful of them is www.disboards.com but there are plenty of others. I found it to be an extremely useful resource in planning nearly every conceivable aspect of my last trip. There are dozens of different threads on various aspects of this subject (pandemic) alone. (We visited Disney right before it was shut down, so I can't give any personal experience post-opening.)
Notgreg
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by Notgreg »

We just got back from a short trip from April 9-12. We're glad we went.

While there are still plenty of people there, the crowds are notably smaller than they ever were pre-COVID. We stayed at the Contemporary resort which is currently undergoing renovations on roughly half the rooms, so if you don't mind some drilling noise during the day you'll probably enjoy a less crowded hotel there as well. As someone who was concerned about the renovation noise before going, it turned out to be a non-issue.

A few things:
-Maybe pool reservations are in place at other resorts, but at the two we saw (Contemporary and Art of Animation) pools were open to all.

-Monorail service is somewhat limited. It no longer services the Polynesian resort or Epcot. I assume shuttles have added trips to manage demand.
mobile ordering, both in the parks and at our hotel, worked great for us. And usually you can sit at a table once you pick up the mobile order, so you can still rest in the shade for a bit.

-Like others have said, familiarize yourself with the Disney World app in general and Virtual Queue availability for some of the more popular rides. They were just starting to roll the Queues out when we were there so we didn't use them.


Like I said, we're happy we went, and we didn't feel like we were missing out on the essential part of the experience because of COVID-related changes.
Jules4
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by Jules4 »

We went the last week in February. It was the first time for our 4 kids so they didn’t know any different and liked it.

We stayed in the newly renovated Pop Century and loved it. It was the most inexpensive of the Disney hotels. We really loved our rooms. The pools were open without reservations. The main one was closed for renovation. We didn’t go to the pools though.

We only went to the Magic Kingdom for two days and no other parks. We didn’t want to push it. After the first day, I had a blister on a blister. That was the first time I’ve ever had that. It was very doable for us physically other than that and I had to lift, carry, launch then catch, suspend upside down, and otherwise entertain my very inpatient 5 year old because we waited an hour at least for each ride because of the lowered capacity. He got more used to it when he realized what would be at the end of the wait.

We had chosen a Tuesday and Wednesday because they were supposed to have the least amount of people there. My husband and I hadn’t been there since 1976. He remembered every single detail, true to his memory, and said it was the same as 1976. I only remembered Space Mountain and wondered ever since when we were going to get phones that we could look at the other person on. I never thought it would be 40 years.

Thank goodness all 4 kids have his memory, not mine. So easy to teach them.

I didn’t remember that it was pretty educational:the cultural representation of geography in It’s a Small World, history in the Carousel of Progress and the steamboat ride, classical literature in Tom Sawyer’s Island and Smith Family Robinson.
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by snackdog »

We are going next week. Excited to try the new Genie+ system for avoiding wait lines. Parking trams are still down so will stay at a nearby hotel and walk or Uber to the entrance.
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Re: Who's been to Disney World during Pandemic?

Post by smitcat »

snackdog wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 10:26 am We are going next week. Excited to try the new Genie+ system for avoiding wait lines. Parking trams are still down so will stay at a nearby hotel and walk or Uber to the entrance.
Your responding to an older post.
The crowds and lines have returned to Disneyworld over the last couple of months. Expect crowds and use the crowd calendar to try and select the days you will visit the parks and which ones to visit each day.
FWIW ...U-studios has not been nearly as crowded so far.
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