Hey! Recently travelled to Walt Disney world on a TOTAL last minute trip before school starts! Boys were so excited to tell them we are leaving in less than 24 hours! Happy to share our experience given this is the first time we have travelled as a family since Christmas!
A little background- we are Disney Vacation Club members so this is not our first time going to Walt Disney– I do have a previous blog post I wrote about our my 5 Favorite Things to Do at Disney. The Boys are great travelers, they are adaptive and truly surprised me with their stamina even with it being so hot! Each day approached 100 degrees! I don’t push them past their point of exhaustion just for the sake of I spent the money to get in, Our typical time to spend in the park any given day is no more than 4/5 hours at a time. Every family approaches Disney in their own way, which is a beautiful thing– I recently asked that you give me your questions regarding my thoughts on travel and this destination given our current state of affairs.
Quick thoughts: Disney is doing ( I believe) everything they possibly can to make your experience a safe and happy one. We had an amazing time, and the service we received as ALWAYS was above and beyond! But they can’t do it all, in some situations it just isn’t possible to be a full 6 ft away from someone, and touching items in the store or riding rides, you’re needing to sanitize your own hands (which we did) and they have tons around at every corner. They are cleaning things left and right, but is it possible to clean every single ride in between every single person? I personally don’t think so. So we just used our best judgement, welcomed their help in keeping us all safe. 🙂
Mask Policy: It is required to wear a mask at all times with very few exceptions. 1. When stationary and actively eating or 2. In the Pool area, swimming or at your chair etc. I did NOT see anyone remove their masks for photos or deviate from this policy. Yes, it was hot but once we got there and in the grove it wasn’t so bad. A change to eating in general is that we all do a lot of snacking on the go– in order to eat and remove our masks we needed to sit or stand away from others. No walking and eating.
Cast Members were even more amazing— they are in full cast outfit, long sleeves, hats the whole magical bit— still wearing their masks and HAPPILY doing their jobs. They worked SO hard to give us incredible service and went out of their way if we needed something. Once I saw that, it really changed my perspective on my own complaining per say.
#1 Tip: Download the My Disney Experience App. I used this all day everyday for up to date and real time information regarding all things Disney. All your questions, purchases, reservation, dining information can all be made there. I can really tell they have invested a TON of time into that app so you can have all the information you need at your fingertips!
Happy to share my thoughts!
Did you find it cheaper OR just more worth the money because it was less crowded? I did not find either to be true. It was less crowded, however there are less experiences available at this time and its not cheaper, cost of everything is the same.
How was the airline? We flew Southwest, plane looked visibly more clean than prior times. Boarding was in groups of 10 to allow for Social Distancing and they ask there to be middle seats open unless sitting with your family. Great experience overall, but I usually do anyway!
Is it true there is no park hopping? No park hopping– single park tickets available only. It is now required to make a reservation at the park the day you are going to for the day, you can come back and forth to the same park however from your hotel.
How were the lines? Were you able to ride a lot? Magic Kingdom, yes- wait times were 10-20 minutes and the rides are closer together in distance so its easy to get off one and get on another. Animal Kingdom, no- wait times there were 20-60 minutes depending on the ride and the distance to walk is pretty far from each one.
What couldn’t you do because of the new COVID policies that you missed most? We had a fairly normal visit given that we don’t go-go-go at the park. But we missed the fireworks at Magic Kingdom.
Fireworks? Sadly no fireworks right now.
Are there any Parades at all? At both Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom we saw a little float — that would be in a parade but it was all alone dancing and singing. That’t about the extent of the parade situation
Can you monorail visit other resorts? Yes for sure. Monorails are operating like normal 2 things different- Your temperature is taken before you get on and every other car is reserved to be empty in order to create distance between yourself and others.
Are pools open? YES! And boy are they always a great time!
Did you do a meal plan? No meal plans are available right now, otherwise I would have done a quick service plan
Would you have gone if it was your first trip there with your kids? No. three Things I think about: Fireworks, character greetings, parades. Also wearing a mask was pretty much a drag- though the boys didn’t complain at all– I would obviously rather do without.
Can you take pictures with the characters? No character greetings right now.
Are they cleaning before the rides? So I did not see anyone cleaning in between each rider, but did see them spraying one of the rides down — I can only assume that was a sanitizer– I bet though there is more information on the app about it. 🙂
Are they still doing Fast Passes? No fast passes right now
How far in advance did you book? the day before? LOL not typical with our vacation points, and our home resort is usually booked, but I jumped at the chance when I thought the time was right!
Joining DVC worth it? We LOVE the vacation club. We use every bit of our points every year, and enjoy the flexibility it brings — we can book 11 months in advance at our “Home” resort, which is the Floridian- we are allowed access at all the properties and can use the points anywhere we want to go. We love our home resort as well! Its truly the BEST service and a place we can call home! At the time we purchased our points, there was only one other resort to buy into, and this was a no brainer location. We also did not research any other timeshares because this made a TON of sense for us– no regrets!
Did you use Magical Express and Disney Transportation? Yes! distancing rules are in place there as well- and we felt great riding! Per usual!
Are you also Annual Passholders or just DVC Members? We in the past have done annual passes, but we don’t now. I don’t want the pressure of using the pass in order to make the ROI work so we just purchase once we go!
Was it hot wearing a mask? Yes. So hot. Almost didn’t go for that very reason, but decided that we could deal with it for a short time. The boys did not complain and adapted quickly — I was personally miserable with a mask on initially but got used to after a while. — But I don’t like to be told what to do, so that is pretty much my personality. 🙂 RULES are you need to be wearing your mask at all times if you are not actively eating, and you cannot walk and eat. You need to be stationary.
How did Dining go? Our typical MO with dining is we fly by the seat of our pants- we don’t do character greetings or sit down reservations — we are quick service all the way. (Boys don’t care too much and I feel like it caters more to the girls with princess experiences anyway) This last visit I did need to modify. Not everything is open, I am assuming since they aren’t at full capacity– and MOST quick service locations want you to order on their app- (easy, tell them what you want and a window you will be there to pick right up so you don’t need to wait in line.) This system worked great and honestly would be fine to just go ahead and keep that! We did take a look at dining reservations for the evening at Disney Springs- and there were quite a few places available even on short notice. Ended up eating at Rainforest Cafe and Wolfgang Pucks restaurants— overall an orderly and calm experience and so yummy!
How was the crowd? Did people follow Social Distancing? Great! I don’t know exact numbers but maybe 40-50% of what I typically experience there pre-COVID. LOVE that we could walk around leisurely and not be tripping over people like we typically do. Everyone for the most part kept their distance and respected others.
Are the Shops and restaurants open at the park? Yes! not all of the restaurants are open– they aren’t at full capacity so its understandable its not all full force. But there’s plenty of dining and shopping options!
Did you feel your hotel room was cleaned or did you disinfect as well? I have always felt that our stays on the property have been VERY clean and sanitized, so I wouldn’t have even thought about this prior to- However, the housekeeping staff did take extra steps to ensure the room is cleaned for each guest. I know this 1. there is a wrapper around each TV remote indicating it has been sanitized. 2. there is a little sign next to the TV (should have taken a pic) listing out exactly what they do above and beyond regular cleaning to ensure proper cleaning! 😉
My Favorite Ears 🙂
