Is it Safe to Return to Disney World 8

I was lucky enough to attend a Cast Member preview and the Annual passholder preview last week at Disney World, I did this for the historical value and to also see first hand how well Disney was prepared to keep guests safe.

When walking towards bag check there are a number of white tents set up to have your temperature taken, if you have a temperature of 100.4 or higher, you will not be able to enter the parks. The process went very quickly and I was told if someone is borderline with their temperature, they could go to a cool down area and try a second time, but they were being very strict with the policy.

Bag check is still pretty much the same with one difference, they will no longer rustle through your bag, they will have you remove contents so they have a better view of what is in your bag. This did not seem to slow down the process that much and I was past bag check with in minutes.

Transportation to the parks

I was able to ride the Monorails and the Ferry multiple times, their capacity has been greatly reduced to promote social distancing and a safer environment. I was told that the maximum capacity for the monorail was 80 and there would be no standing allowed, the Ferry will accommodate 250 guests at a time. The benches on the ferry are clearly marked as to where you can and can not sit, the rest of the ferry has round stickers placed on the ground so you know where to stand and are spaced out appropriately . The staging area for the ferry also has stickers for guests to stand on while waiting to board, they are numbered, number one will load first and be directed to the upper deck, number to loads second and are sent to the lower deck. The two decks also disembark separately to keep guests from over crowding.

Welcome to Magic Kingdom

I know it has only been a few months since I walked down Main St, but returning really felt special and the new paint scheme on the castle only enhanced that feeling. Now it does feel very different with everyone wearing masks, no main st vehicles, no characters and with the park being so quiet, but I could not have been happier to be back.

My mission was to go on every ride and attraction so I could report back on everything there was to do. Not only was I able to accomplish that, but because of the limited capacity I was able to finish by 4PM

Some rides have these metal and plexiglass partitions to keep guests from getting too close in some of the ques (Big Thunder, Splash Mountain and 7 Dwarfs) and every ride has stickers on the ground to keep groups at least 6′ away from each other. Every ride also has hand sanitizer before you get on a ride and one as you exit. Ride vehicles were filled every other row and the rows could only contain people from one party. I also witnessed multiple rides periodically being sprayed down with sanitizer and rails/high touch areas being wiped down on a regular basis. I never felt as though anyone was too close to me not only in the que, but also on the ride itself.

Theater Shows

I was under the impression that Disney World would not be opening any shows in a theater, but I was pleasantly surprised to see them open. Staging areas waiting to go into theaters had circles on the floor like the ferry and each group stands on those spots until its time to enter the theater. Shows with a que have stickers on the ground to maintain the 6′ distance from guests in front of you and behind you. Once in the theater, every other row was blocked off and the seats that were available were in groups of four with three seats between them blocked off. If you are a party of five or more, you will need to split up with in the available seats. This felt very safe and if I had one complaint it would be that Disney should release the rows one at a time to avoid some congestion as you exit.

Entertainment

I know a lot of people are upset about the lack of fireworks, parades and characters, but Disney World did there best to try and fill that void to the best of their ability. Even though there are no longer character spots, you will still see some unique character experiences. I spotted Chip and Dale on one of Tom Sawyers rafts, Country Bears were on a balcony in Frontier land and Mickey was at the exit with his pals to wave goodbye.

Instead of having parades, they have unscheduled cavalcades that pop up randomly and contain a couple floats with your favorite characters. These pass by very quickly to avoid crowds gathering, but were a welcome addition and still fun to watch.

Dealing with the masks

The biggest concern most people have is with the masks during the hot summer months. I am not going to say that it is wonderful, but you do get semi use to it after a while. Disney has also set up cool down areas where social distancing is extending so you can sit down and take your mask off for a bit and relax. These areas should be taken advantage of if the heat is getting to you and you need to get some fresh air. The cast members through out the park did a fantastic job making sure people were keeping their masks on and that people were maintaining social distancing, they also have constant reminders being played over speakers in the park. I did not see any guests with out a mask and people were pretty good about pulling them down briefly to take a drink. I do think that people walking with food should be limited, I noticed people with ice cream walking down the Main St sidewalk with their masks down getting close to people.

Dining Options

I did not eat much while at the parks, but I did manage to squeeze a lunch in at Cosmic Rays. When approaching the restaurant you are met by a couple cast members who give you info on ordering and the new process. They have a QR code that you can scan for the menu, you complete your order using your phone and are given a pick up window number and an order number. Once your phone lets you know that you food is ready they let us in so that we could go to the corresponding window number to pick up our food. We were escorted to a table and took our masks off to eat. Tables are separated nicely so that no one is near you and you feel safe with out your mask on.

Unfortunately there are a number of restaurants that are closed during this reopening, but there is still enough options to please guests. A lot of the kiosks are also closed, so you make have to search a little harder for you Mickey bar or popcorn bucket.

Shopping

I only went into a couple shops to see what they were doing differently. I shopped at Momento Mori and the Splash Mountain gift shop. While at Momento Mori I noticed a Cast Member with a pad keeping count of how many people were in a store at every given time. In that store they are limited to 15 guests, even though the store is small, 15 people did not seem like a lot while I was in there. There also sanitizer stations set up at the stores as well.

With the future retheming of the ride it is no surprise that this is the hot store in Disney. The first day that I went to go ride Splash mountain, the line for the gift shop was much longer than the ride. By the second day they had a virtual que system in place, you just approach the cast member stationed at the end of the line and they take your phone number and you will receive a text when your spot is ready. I showed up late and was not guaranteed a spot, but still received a text hours before the park closed and was able to pick up a couple plush animals for my daughter.

Closing Thoughts

I have to give Disney World an A+ on their efforts to keep guests feeling safe during these unprecedented times and the cast members have truly stepped up as usual. I know they already suffer during the summer with some of the thicker uniforms they are required to wear, but add in a mask/face shield and you just know that they are truly uncomfortable. Even under those circumstances every cast member I interacted with were super friendly and helpful.

People ask me if it is worth going right now and I will say it depends on the individual. If what is missing will bother you or the masks are hard for you to deal with, I would say wait. As for me, I could not have been happier about going, even though I could only go to one park, it was still amazing to be back to the magic.

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