Hello all, I hope everyone is staying safe during this pandemic. I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted on here, however, during this time I was hard at work trying to get back down to Florida and I’m happy to say I succeeded! It’s been a weird but exciting time getting back to Orlando, and while things look different coming back, I’m excited to be here.
I was fortunate enough that my first week back, that I was able to take a trip to the Magic Kingdom. This was my first time being back to the Walt Disney World Resort since the parks were closed and the new guidelines have been put in place. While things look and feel very different than before, I am here today to share my experiences and let you know what it’s like to go to the parks during this time.
Our Day at the Magic Kingdom
Since I live close to property, we decided to get to the park right at opening instead of rope dropping. I’ve heard from multiple friends, who’ve been to the parks since they’ve been open, that it is very crowded if you go right at rope drop. However, we got to the TTC right as the park was opening and breezed through parking, the temperature checks, getting on the bus (the monorail was down), and getting into the park.
Once getting through the touch points, we were first greeted by Mickey and the Fab 5 on top of the Main Street Train Station. While they are not doing Character Meet & Greets at this time, in placement they are doing Character Interactions from a distance. I thought this was nice because while it is understandable why they arn’t having characters meet, it was nice to see them still out and about creating magic for guests.
One thing that I also noticed right away once entering the park was how empty it felt. As someone who’s both worked and been a guest at MK when it’s been super busy, it was shocking to see how few people were around. However, with the lack of people, we were able to hop on many of our favorite rides with little to no wait time. Some rides we walked on included: Peter Pan’s Flight, Space Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion. Other rides that we go on with reduced wait times included Seven Dwarves Mine Train (20 min), Splash Mountain (30 min), and Pirates (15 min).
Precautions during COVID
Besides the low crowds and wait times, another thing to consider when going to the parks are the extra precautions put in place for the health and safety of both the guests and cast. Some things that Disney has put in place include:
- Multiple hand sanitizer stations throughout the park (usually pre and post-ride)
- Hand washing stations throughout the park
- Marked signs warning guests to maintain social distancing and to wear their masks
- Every 10-15 minutes an announcement is made to remind guests to maintain social distancing and to wear their masks
- Ground markings that socially distance guests in queues
- Plexy glass in certain queues and attractions
- Washing the attraction vehicles every 2 hours
- QR codes to scan at Food & Beverage locations instead of physical menus
- Certain areas to take off your masks and relax
Current Offerings
Another thing to consider before deciding that you want to head back to the parks is the fact that certain features and operations of the park aren’t currently being offered, such as:
- Fireworks
- Stage Shows
- Parades (unscheduled Character Calvacades are in its place)
- Character Meet & Greets
- Certain Food & Beverage Locations
Thoughts & Opinions
My first initial thought of getting back to the parks is that it was extremely hot. I’m no stranger to the Florida heat, especially in August, but I was taken aback at how hot it was at the park especially with a mask on. Each wasn’t awful on their own, but when combined it was miserable. I had to take a lot of breaks to cool myself down. As someone who is not an Annual Passholder, if you have the choice to wait to go to the parks, based on the heat alone, I’d rather wait till late September/October to visit the parks.
Other than the heat, we had a wonderful day at the park. We got on all our favorite rides with little to no wait, got to see all our favorite characters via the distanced Character Interactions & the Character Calvacades, and we were able to take some amazing pictures in front of the castle that you wouldn’t normally be able to get.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my review of my park day! I wanted to give my honest opinion of my day at the Magic Kingdom and how I felt about everything. One of the biggest questions I’ve been getting is how safe we feel about being in the parks. Honestly, I felt safer being at the park than I did when I went to Walmart last week. Disney really implements all their extra safety precautions and I never felt unsafe while at the park. I absolutely love that we were able to get on rides rather quickly, however, the trade-off at this time is this wicked heat.
If you can handle the weather or are an Annual Passholder who comes often, I would 100% recommend coming right now to the parks. However, if you are sensitive to the heat, or have little kids or people in your family that wouldn’t do well I would wait for the weather to cool off a bit before visiting. Since I’m not an Annual Passholder, I’m going to be waiting before visiting the other parks, as to both spaces out my visits with my tickets and to wait for the weather to get better.
Attached below, I’ve also included a detailed video about our day at the park so you can see for yourself everything I described above. I hope that both resources are helpful in the planning of your Disney trip or just help transport you back to the magic. Let me know down below in the comments if there is anything else you’d like me to cover regarding these new guidelines at the parks.
Until then, Keep Moving Forward
– Kacey
Marketing the Magic 