Visiting Walt Disney World During Covid-19

Covid-19 measurements I witnessed while visiting Disney World

1. Face Coverings

Facemasks are mandatory for all guests and cast members, ages 2 and up (employees are constantly checking if guests are properly covering their nose and mouth, if not, they will ask you to do it). Neck gaiters and bandanas are not acceptable face coverings.

2. Temperature Screenings

Temperature screenings are required for entering the parks (these lines are very fast).

3. Scannable Menu Codes and Mobile Orders for Dining

Now, you need to scan a code to see a restaurant menu. Additionally, most of the dining experiences are mobile orders, which means that you’ll need to place an order through the Disney app and then pick it up at the location. Some locations are open to dine-in, but you will need to make a reservation through the app.

4. Social Distancing Measurements

All rides, restaurants, and shops have 6 ft apart ground markings to ensure all guests practice social distancing. Some rides have plastic barriers.

5. Hand Sanitizer Locations

Hand sanitizers and handwashing locations all over the park.

6. Park Capacity

There’s only 35% of the total capacity.

My pros and cons:

Cons:

• You have to make a line to enter everywhere (that means less time for rides)
• Some rides, restaurants, experiences, and parades are temporarily closed or unavailable. Even so, you will not be able to see or experience everything available because everywhere you go, there’s a line.
• FastPass+ is not available.
• Some people don’t care about following the 6ft distance while making lines, and it can get frustrating to keep asking the party behind you to keep their distance.
• If your phone dies, you may have problems with ride reservations and dining orders.
• No more meetings and photos with Disney characters
• They placed a barrier between the front and back of the cart rides to maintain social distancing. But those on the back don’t get to experience the ride as well as those in the front.
• Now you need a park ticket, and also a park reservation (I don’t really consider it a con, but it’s one more step to the process)

Pros

• Thanks to the ground markings, you are 6ft apart from the party in the front and behind you (you will have your personal space, not next to each other like it used to be).
• Waiting time is the same as before, 60 – 90 mins, and lines are longer now, but they advance faster than before. For me, it felt better to wait while walking than to wait while standing in the same spot.
• If you get hungry, you need to order the food through the app and pick it up when it’s ready.
• You can manage your entire visit through your phone and the Disney app.
• More organization.
• Fewer crowds.
• Fewer people in restrooms.
• No more different parties next to you on the rides (you may have different parties in front or behind, but a barrier will separate you).

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

If you plan to visit Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios and hop on the last Star Wars ride, “Rise of the Resistance,” I suggest you keep reading.

To enter this ride, you need a place in a virtual queue (you will get an email with the link one day before your visit). This virtual queue will place you in a boarding group for the ride.

Here is my experience with this ride:

They only allow you to join the virtual queue at 7 am and 1 pm on the same day you visit the park. We set the alarm at 6:58 am. Then, we started refreshing the page; at 7 am, the queue was available. We started reading every step very carefully because we didn’t want to make any mistakes. But, before accepting, the queue was already full. At 7:01 am, they reached capacity. 

We had another chance at 1:00 pm. We set the alarm at 12:55 pm, and we started refreshing the page. At 1:00 pm, the queue opened. This time, we didn’t read anything, just clicked “join” and “ok.” We got in! Unfortunately, they placed us in a backup boarding group, and they didn’t guarantee access to the attraction.

Luckily, 3 hours later, our boarding group was called, and we had a 45 mins window to get to the ride. We just have ordered food from a dine-in restaurant, so we put everything in a box and head ASAP to the ride. 

It definitely was a different and strange experience to visit Disney World during a pandemic, but the park is taking COVID precautions very seriously. I missed experiencing the park like I used to, but I’m glad I felt safe while visiting it. Plus, I really enjoyed the social distancing part, especially in lines.

Leave me a comment below if you like it!