In these uncertain times, I have chosen to visit both Universal and Disney and have openly shared my honest experiences there. But, I have asked one of my amazing clients to give you her perspective of her family’s visit during COVID. Please keep in mind that I, in no way, will encourage or discourage my clients to travel. But, what I will do, is present honest and open views of what I have experienced, and allow you, my clients, make good, informed decisions.
Please enjoy Mechelle’s take on a visit to DISNEY during COVID:
Our original trip to Walt Disney world was canceled this summer because the parks were closed. We chose to cancel instead of reschedule, because honestly, we did not know when we would feel comfortable traveling. But as Carie ventured to the parks and showed us all the safety measures that have been put in place, we were assured we would be safe. So, we decided, let’s do it! Carie booked our vacation and 5 days later we were off to the parks.
While our main purpose of the trip was to visit the parks, we made a short trip to the LEGO Store at Disney Springs and dinner at City Works, which is a must.
Disney springs wasn’t too crowded when we arrived but had gotten much more crowded later on in the evening. More guests were coming in as the parks now have earlier closing times.
On to the parks.
We visited 3 of the 4 parks on our short trip.
Animal Kingdom felt the least crowded and at times you felt like you had the park to yourself. You know it’s not very crowded when you can walk on Flight of Passage.
Hollywood Studios felt the most crowded, but I feel it generally always has a more crowded feel due to the smaller footprint of the park. But once it reached late afternoon many people had left and there was much more space to spread out!
Magic Kingdom is still as magical as it has always been. Like everyone else we took in the beauty of Cinderella Castle on main street upon arriving at the park, but once you leave Main Street and guests begin to spread out the park was really quite empty. It was nice to just take it all in, take the time to chat with cast members and to not worry about rushing to try to do it all!
It’s a new feeling being in the parks but still just as magical. Of course, we missed hugging Mickey but the character cavalcades are so fun and the characters really interact directly with you. There are no fast passes but they are not needed, many rides were a walk on and others a very minimal wait. Of the three parks the longest wait time we had was 30 minutes and that was for the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, the posted time was 55 minutes but we were on in thirty minutes. We loved this ride so much we rode it three times that day.
I’ve been asked many times. How was it wearing a mask? It’s Florida in August, it’s humid & hot, whether you have a mask on or not.
We scheduled a late lunch each day to take a break from the heat and to remove our mask while dining. The only other time we removed our mask was when we sat to have a treat. We did not utilize any of the relaxation stations because we didn’t feel we needed them. Even my 6 yr. old wore his mask the entire time with not one complaint!!!
Let’s talk safety!
Disney has gone above and beyond to ensure the guests and cast members safety. Online resort check-in allowed us to go directly to our room, and mobile ordering for quick service, which is a game changer, eliminated crowding to get food. There are temperature checks before entering the parks, which took mere seconds. Hand sanitizer at the entrance and exits of attractions, social distance markers in cues and placing guests in alternating rows on attractions. We always saw a cast member cleaning. Were guests following the guidelines … yes, 99% of the time. Once we did encounter someone in line behind us not following the markers, but they were distracted on their phone and not paying attention to where they were supposed to stand.
I will say our pool area at our resort was very crowded in the evenings once the parks closed, so we chose not to visit the pool area because we just didn’t feel that comfortable with that many people. Obviously, this was not an issue for us, because we enjoyed relaxing in our room after a fun filled day at the parks.
Did we feel safe…absolutely!! We felt safer on Disney property than at the local grocery store and would go back tomorrow without any hesitation. This was a trip we won’t soon forget, we packed in so much fun in our few short days, and with lower capacity, you really can do it all. So, should you travel to Walt Disney World, simply, YES!!!!
I hope you enjoyed another first hand view of a visit to Disney during this time. If you’d like further information, please visit some of my previous blogs regarding my recent visits, or contact me to set an appointment to chat. I’m happy to give you the real and honest view of safety precautions, new policies and procedures, and new exciting things happening! I look forward to serving you if you are now comfortable traveling or in the future if you are not at that level of comfort yet!
