I recently got back from a full week in Orlando for the start of the holiday celebrations and have a lot to report. I want to dispel any myths that may still be floating out there and go over the good, the bad, and the ugly of my experience. And mainly share what visiting Walt Disney World is REALLY like in 2020. (At least as of November.)
Before I get into the nitty gritty, however, I do want to explain why I went on this vacation to begin with. (I know that travel in general is a polarizing topic this year.) As many of you know, I live in Los Angeles and things have been ROUGH. With the exception of being with family over the summer, I have essentially been alone in my tiny one bedroom apartment – all day, everyday. So for me, I felt that the risks of taking a trip to WDW in an effort to bring a little much-needed “sparkle” into my life, were essentially pretty low; and I didn’t have to worry about possibly infecting loved-ones upon return. I want to point this out before I go on, as I know many of you have families, roommates, and other situations which make this type of trip a lot more “risky” or nearly impossible.
So now with that out of the way, if you are still thinking of going, here’s what you need to know:
Crowd Levels
I had been hearing about how empty the parks were all Summer & Fall and that expected attendance heading into November & December was going to be similarly low. So naturally I wanted to experience this for myself. I mean, when are the parks ever really that empty? When I visit WDW on a normal year, I typically try to avoid the most crowded months. In the past I’ve enjoyed going in May, in August (even though the heat is enough to kill you), and November. I’ve found that the parks have never been that bad if I plan it “right”.
25-35% Capacity Caps
About a week before my arrival, I heard that Disney was “secretly” increasing capacity from 25% to 35%. And sure enough, while we were there an official announcement was made by the Walt Disney Company confirming this increase. That said, 35% should still, in theory, make the parks feel pretty empty. That was NOT my experience at all. Every park felt extremely crowded on all but one day at Magic Kingdom (specifically on the Thursday before the holidays “officially” kicked off). And, side note, we specifically avoided going to any of the parks over the weekend.
Lines & Wait Times
For Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom almost all ride times were a minimum of 60 minutes for the entire day (even starting 30 minutes before park open). I think that says it all.
Epcot and Magic Kingdom were a bit different. Epcot isn’t really a “ride park” in my opinion anyway but there were long waits for the top 3 rides (as one would normally expect). The other rides were basically walk-on (which is usually how it is in the off-season). I was mostly surprised by the amount of people hanging out around World Showcase on a Tuesday. There were people sitting or standing in virtually all open spaces. I did not love that, if I’m honest. For Magic Kingdom, there were long waits for the most popular rides but plenty of other rides had very short wait times. Of all the parks, I found Magic Kingdom to be the most pleasant experience. (We even went on 2 days).
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this since returning from the trip. If capacity truly is capped at 35%, then why do the parks feel so incredibly crowded right now? The conclusion I’ve drawn is two-fold. First, with the elimination of virtually all entertainment and indoor table service dining options, there aren’t a lot of places for large amounts of people to go gather. Of course, that’s the point. We’re in a pandemic. But the consequences of this change are that rides are more crowded than ever before.
Secondly, with the need for social distancing, ride queues have now expanded into all common walkways. There is no way around this and I do believe that Walt Disney World is doing the best they can to navigate the required social distancing to keep us all safe. But honestly, it made for a sub-par Disney parks experience and with ticket prices still soaring ($138/day unless you purchase multi-day tickets), I’m honestly not sure this is worth it. More on that later.
Safety at the Parks During Covid
Ok, let’s dive into everyone’s second favorite question: “how clean were the parks?” and “did you feel safe”? I think these essentially go together. I actually did feel very “safe” (relative to going out in public during a worldwide pandemic).
Social Distancing
Even though I found the parks to be crowded, extensive social distancing measures are still in place. Part of the reason that the ride times are so long is that people are being kept apart even on the rides. For some rides, this means that only one party is allowed to sit in each car, boat, etc. For other rides, Disney added plexiglass dividers. Even though you may have to wait longer than you would like to get on a ride, once you do, you feel like you can really breathe (into your mask, lol) with all the space around you.
Sanitization
There are hand sanitizing stations at the start and end of every ride, making it super easy to keep germ free. (We did notice on several occasions that the hand sanitizer stations were empty though, so bring your own). And after visiting Universal Studios, we did feel as though Disney could be doing a lot better (more on this in a future post) but nothing so drastic that it would keep me from feeling “safe”.
Masks
Mask adherence throughout the parks is strictly enforced. We did not see anyone trying to break the rules while we were there. Because of this, I did feel great about the overall experience of just walking around. (One Big Caveat: Disney Springs on the other hand… was a totally different story. We went on the Saturday and Sunday of our trip and it was a shhh-show. People EVERYWHERE, tons of masks off or down. I even saw two full-on bachelorette parties living it up. If you want to put yourself in a situation where you do not feel safe, head to Disney Springs on a weekend.)
Temperature Checks & Contactless Ordering
The last two things I want to mention are temperature screenings and mobile ordering. Disney does require temperature screenings before entering any of the parks (and Disney Springs). If you or anyone in your party has a temp over 103, you won’t be allowed in. To minimize contact with cast members, Disney has implemented mobile ordering mandates at all quick service locations. I REALLY loved this change. Mobile ordering timeframes were always super fast. We never had to wait in line to get our food so I felt really safe about grabbing it and eating it outside. And I could tell that it was really helping with crowd control at all of the venues.
Characters & Cavalcades
You’ve probably heard by now that Disney has created “substitutes” for parades and character meet & greets. I’m not going to spend too much time on this, only to say, I guess they tried? Characters have now been placed throughout the parks in areas where guests do not have access to them but can see them from a-far. Truthfully, I only saw 2 areas where this was true. In Magic Kingdom, above the Country Bear Jamboree and in Epcot, in the grassy area outside of Journey into Imagination. Maybe I just missed the others? Comment below if you saw more because I’m definitely curious. Overall, this was really disappointing to me. I know we can’t get autographs but I would at least like to see the characters more often than I did and be able to get a “distanced” photo or two with them.
As for cavalcades, I did see these several times throughout the day. They feature quick little floats or cars that come down the main areas of the park. They are unplanned (at least to the general public’s knowledge) and are meant to be over as quickly as they begin to avoid crowd formation. I felt like Disney was definitely trying with these. There’s not much more you can do given the circumstances. Do these fill the void left by parade cancellations? Absolutely NOT. But again, it is what it is.
Transportation
The Magical Express
We stayed on property and used all of the available transportation, starting with the Magical Express. Operations have changed for this. Cast Members are no longer able to pick up your bags at baggage claim, nor can you check in for your flight at the hotel. There are also no longer designated buses for each resort (probably because capacity is still so low at the resorts). The process for checking in at the Magical Express counters is the same as before. Once you’ve checked in, you are asked to fill out a disclaimer form and then you are assigned a bus number and given a specific row to sit in. Disney did a good job of distancing groups onboard the bus.
Here’s my biggest complaint with the new Magical Express system: our bus stopped at 4 resorts. I was lucky enough to be the first of the 4, but if you’re 3 or 4…. this is actually super annoying. The Magical Express already takes some time to leave the airport and get to the resorts. If time is of the essence, it may be more efficient to rent a car or get a Lyft. Which brings me to my next point.
Resort Transportation
We used A LOT of the resort bus transportation. In the mornings, the lines for the buses were too long to want to deal with. We usually left the hotel around an hour before park open. I’m sure the wait times were only around 15-30 minutes for the buses but there were just so many people snaking around the resort in these long lines that we ended up ordering Lyfts instead. (It was about $11-12 from Pop Century to the parks). I have since been pondering if renting a car would be a better option for WDW travel during Covid.
On the flip side, taking the buses back from the parks was much easier. We never waited too long for a bus. There are plexiglass dividers inside all buses to keep parties separated and there are no longer standing room only areas. I found this to be a nice change (not being super crowded or worrying about getting a seat on the bus).
We also used the new skyliner for the first time! We got to the skyliner about an hour before parks opened. The lines looked very long but they actually went pretty fast. I don’t think we waited more than 15 minutes before we were on board. And each party gets their own gondola!
As far as I know, the Minnie Vans are no longer running. (Does anyone actually use those though?)
To Stay “On Property” or Not
It’s no secret that I’ve always been a HUGE proponent of staying on Disney property. I have been touting the advantages of this for years and still, under normal operating conditions, feel strongly about getting the “full” Disney experience in this way. We are not, however, living in “normal” times and I have to say that after this recent trip, I no longer think it is worth it to stay on property as long as things remain the way they are. (At least as things relate to staying at a Value or Moderate level resort.)
Basically all of the “perks” of staying on property have been eliminated. There are no longer extra magic hours, the magical express has essentially just turned into a shuttle bus service, the long waits for the buses in the morning don’t end up saving you any time (although they may still save you a tiny bit of money), and there is virtually no housekeeping service at any of the resorts. (I believe several hotel chains are now doing that though.)
I think it may be more cost efficient to stay off-property, since both Disney and non-Disney resorts are promoting discounts at the moment. Even with discounts, Disney resorts are still more expensive. The only exception to this, in my mind, are the deluxe hotels that are super easy to get to and from, such as the Contemporary for Magic Kingdom or any of the hotels on the Boardwalk near Epcot.
Is It Worth it to Go to WDW Right Now?
Ok, last but not least…. the million dollar question: Is it worth visiting WDW right now? Honestly, this is a tough one for me. I am a hardcore Disnephile and love just being in the presence of all things Disney. So of course, I LOVED my most recent trip. I have zero regrets about going and I will be going back again in 2021.
That said, the Walt Disney World experience I have grown to know and love (and if I’m honest) expect is not the same experience guests are having now. Sadly, I would actually recommend that most families NOT travel to Walt Disney World at present. The main reasons being: the elimination of FastPasses, shortened park hours, no non-ride entertainment, no character interactions, and the general experience of having to walk around with a mask on your face all day. For the price of admission, the experience is just not there. I can’t even recommend a “strategy” for minimizing wait times because the parks open so late that everyone is there at park open and with no FastPasses, you’re just SOL.
If you can get an incredible deal on lodging and know what you’re getting into, then yes, absolutely go. It’s still Walt Disney World after all. I did feel generally safe and enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations, eating the food I’ve been missing, and obviously seeing Cinderella Castle again. I’m still dreaming of it actually. 🙂
That’s it! I hope you found this article helpful. I am aware that my experience was just one week out of the year and that other experiences may be, and have been, different from mine. So please take this all with a grain of salt. My only goal was to convey what it’s really like visiting Walt Disney World right now and to provide an honest assessment of the operations. I’ve seen a lot of people singing Disney’s praises this year which I think can be misleading. We’re still in a pandemic and travel in general is risky. Please bear the big picture in mind when thinking about a future WDW vacation.
As always, I’m here to help with any additional questions you may have and would love to hear more about your own personal experiences! I hope everyone has a safe and magical holiday season as we close out 2020.
