AN UNBIASED REVIEW OF DISNEY WORLD DURING COVID 19

9/9/2020

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I love Disney. For my mom and I it really is the happiest place on earth. Each year we plan a trip together, just us, and we hang out for a whole week. We ride all the rides, visit all the parks, take a side trip one day to Universal Studios, and park hop til' we drop. So, when COVID 19 became a thing early this year, I had it in the back of my mind that things might be different, but honestly, seven months into the changes, I never thought it would last this long. Our original plan was to go to Disneyland over in California, holding off on Florida until they've completed the rides they've got going up (Tron, Guardians, etc.), but when June rolled around and California still had its "closed" sign hanging at the state entrance, we cancelled the plans and rebooked for Florida. (read more)

DISNEY WORLD DURING COVID YOUTUBE

As always if you'd rather hear me talk about this instead of reading the blog post, here you go. It's one of my longer videos, coming in just over 30 minutes. I also don't talk about the pre shows, so if you want to know about that, there are no pre shows before rides anymore.

GOING TO DISNEY WORLD DURING COVID REVIEW

I should start by telling you how much I love to travel. It's the thing in life I save my pennies for, making memories is my jam. I'd rather have a trip with loved ones than a physical item, and I look forward to these trips so much so that I'd almost venture to say getting there is as fun as being there.

All that is to tell you that I consider myself a die hard traveler. I knew I'd be headed to Disney World with a mask. I knew it would be hot, I knew things would be different, but still I figured it would be good. After all, walking around Disney World with a mask on is still walking around Disney World!

Well, it is, sort of.

And also sort of not.

So, from the moment we got to the airport to the moment we bid our goodbye to The Contemporary, here's how it went.

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IS DISNEY STILL FUN WITH A MASK?

I knew I'd be masking up pretty much constantly, so the first thing I did was review Disney's mask rules. Once that was done, I hit Etsy to find a super cute mask that I knew would NOT touch my mouth. I don't wear masks often in my daily life, and never in the heat for any extended period of time, but I knew the thing that bothered me most was having the mask rub on my lips. I found a cute one that had a little outward pucker, keeping my lips free. I bought an extra one for my mom, so sometimes we sort of matched. Other times we did not, simply because she has her own ideas about what kind of masks she wants to wear, including a horrifying one she purchased from Universal Studios.

We also found some super cute shirts to wear one day, announcing to the world that we were MASKETEERS!

I'll link here to the masks I like best and to the MASKETEERS shirts, in case you want to check them out.

Once I had those things in place, I loaded up my backpack with all the things I consider MUST HAVE for any Disney trip, and my husband took me to the airport to meet up with my mom.

Of course, as soon as you enter the airport your mask adventure begins, so I put it on, went through security, and went to meet my mom. It's a part of our routine to get some coffee and a donut when we meet up like this, but I didn't bother with it this time. My mom had gotten me a water and a muffin, but I found it awkward to continually pull the mask down and risk the stares from other people anytime I did so.

On board the plane (we flew Southwest), we were notified that there would be no usual service. They did come by with a small snack (which I declined) and let us know that we could have water on the rocks. Since our flight left at 8:30 in the morning, I wasn't fussed, not being a big drinker to begin with.

We landed on time at MCO in Orlando and immediately hailed an Uber with our handy dandy app. The driver was wearing a mask, we kept ours on the entire time as well, and he had us deposited at The Contemporary within a half hour of picking us up.

This was when we got the first indication that Disney World as we knew it was not the Disney World we were walking in to.

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DISNEY'S CONTEMPORARY RESORT DURING COVID

The first thing we did was go to our room to drop off our suitcases. Disney has this down pat, giving you access to your room via your phone or your magic band, without ever having to go to the front desk to check in. We had put in a room request beforehand using our Touring Plans subscription, so we knew just about where we'd be staying and headed right over.

The room was nice, very clean with a pretty view. We unpacked, got all of our stuff together, and headed upstairs to the monorail so we could make our 2 p.m. reservation at Coral Reef in Epcot.

However, once we got to the monorail entrance, we saw a big sign letting us know that the Monorail to Epcot was not running. I don't know if this was a planned outage or if it has specifically to do with COVID, but I do know that we were there for an entire week and the monorail to Epcot never ran, not once. You simply could not go from The Contemporary to Epcot via the monorail, and you could not go from Epcot to The Contemporary, either.

It was disappointing, especially since we'd splurged on this hotel specifically because of monorail access.

This was the first of many things that will make us second guess going to Disney World during COVID.

We walked back downstairs (we could not take the escalator because it was broken) all the way from the 4th to the 1st floor, and headed for the busses.

Another big change was ahead.

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DISNEY WORLD DURING COVID BLOG POST
CONTINUED

We made our way down to the busses, kept our masks on at all times outside, and waited on some benches for the bus to arrive. When the bus arrived, we noticed another change. We were not allowed to board the bus when the doors opened.

The bus driver asked us how many were in our party, and when we told him he looked inside the bus then came back out and gave us an assigned seat. We proceeded to those seats and sat down, keeping our masks on at all times.

If there were more people waiting for the bus than there were socially distanced seats, those people would have to wait for the next bus.

Here's what it looked like.

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SHOULD I GO TO DISNEY DURING COVID?
CHANGES TO ENTRANCE AND DINING

When we arrived at Epcot we made our way off the bus and to a tent that housed Cast Members wielding no-touch thermometers. They were efficient, scanning our foreheads and telling us to go on into the park.

I do need to mention here that, on one day, we took the gondolas around just to try them out, and when we got back to the park for our temperature check I was reading very hot, over 100.4, I presume. They ended up taking my temperature behind both ears, then I was allowed in.

I imagine they come across this kind of thing a lot, what with people wearing masks, hats, and other things that are going to hold in heat. Still, if I had been turned away I would have been pretty upset.

Once we were past the temperature check we headed over to security, which is vastly different. They asked us to remove any umbrellas and metal insulated cups, then we were to hold those items out in front of us and walk through the scanner.

They no longer search your bags at all.

After that we went to the scanners to scan our bands, and were pleasantly surprised to see we no longer had to scan our fingerprints. There's a plastic cap over the fingerprint scanner now.

Some of the changes I did not like, but I really liked how easy security was, and I liked not scanning my finger. I'm that person who often forgets which finger they used, or I don't place it just right and I stall the line while someone calls over another Cast Member to help me out.

Side Note - You will be scanned for temperature each time you enter a park. You will also get the same scan each time you enter a restaurant that is not located in a park.

Once we got to Coral Reef we were directed to scan a QR code in order to get the menu. There were no paper menus of any sort at Disney World while we were there.

We checked in at the window, but this was the only time we did it that way. After that first time, I was informed that we could check in via the app, and I really liked that way so much better. Just check in within 15 minutes of your reservation time, let them know how many are in your party (you can add one person in addition to what you booked), any food allergies or special needs, then click done. Once your table is ready you will get a notification telling you to go to the front to see a cast member. They'll take you to your table, at which point you may take off your mask.

You can only remove your mask while actively eating or drinking WHILE STATIONARY, or when you're at a restaurant table. You might think you'll get away with walking and eating or drinking, but trust me, someone will say something to you, so follow the rules.

The restaurant has also changed, sectioning off tables for social distancing.

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Here's a look at the app you now use to check into your reservations.

Something else worth mentioning is that the restaurants which have a show or a "feel" to them will also probably be different. I know that Cinderella's Castle is opening again without the princesses (can you imagine paying full price for that, but not seeing any princesses?) However, we're not even talking about big things like that, rather small things that make a big difference.

For example, we ate at 50's Prime Time, a big draw of which is that they kind of harass you if you don't follow "Mom's rules". They used to tell you to put your "walkie talkie" away and stuff like that, coming by to chat with you about your food, get your elbows off the table, eat your veggies, etc.

We ate there this trip and it wasn't like that. They service was still good, but the atmosphere is different. And since you're paying the same prices as pre COVID, you might feel like you're not getting the same bang for your buck. The Cast Members just cannot interact with you in the same way, there are less of them, masks are in place, and that alone doesn't lend itself to a whole lot of park goer/Cast Member interaction.

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TRAVELING TO DISNEY WORLD DURING COVID
LINES

The next thing we noticed about the changes for COVID were the way the lines were handled. Of course there are no more Fast Passes to be had, and other than checking in to your boarding group for Rise of the Resistance, you simply treat each line as though you are riding stand by.

Disney has markers stuck to the ground so you know where to stand, meaning you have a lot of distance between your party and the next. This also means that even a relatively short line will have you standing in the sun for long periods of time. This was the line for Test Track, the wait was about 25 minutes.

The markers on the ground are "about" six feet apart, but they can be more than that, especially if it's in a section of the line that has a switchback. Not only do you need to stand six feet away from the person in front and behind you, but also six feet away from the people on the sides of you.

You also will not have anything to do in line. We ended up getting out of the Test Track line when the weather turned, so we didn't make it to the spot where you create a car, but I'm not sure if you can even create a car anymore. In the other lines anything you could touch is now covered up. I imagine Test Track still lets you create, but I have no doubt there is a pause between riders so the Cast Members can come in and clean the screens.

Your kids won't have anything to do in line anymore, no gems to play with, no bees to push around, none of that. Even in the stores there were signs everywhere asking you not to handle the merchandise.

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IS IT WORTH GOING TO DISNEY WORLD DURING COVID 19
OTHER CHANGES

Aside from social distancing on the bus, you'll also be social distancing in places you'd normally be with other people. This means you'll be alone in ride cars, have your own car on the monorail, ride in your own Millennium Falcon on Smuggler's Run, etc.

This is fine right now, what with park attendance being so low, but we heard rumors that Disney would soon be opening the park to more people. If this is the case, we aren't sure how it'll work, not with the current restrictions in place.

Here we are in our own Monorail car on the way to Magic Kingdom.

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Here we are getting ready to pilot our very own Millennium Falcon. Look at those empty place holders! We actually did really well, not crashing for the first time ever! We had a friend join us on our last day there and the three of us got off the ride with 28% health left. So, I think probably it's easier to do better with less people.

We rocked all by ourselves on Rockin Roller Coaster! This is a perfect segway into the next thing I want to talk about, the pre shows.

They aren't there anymore.

DISNEY WORLD DURING COVID UNBIASED REVIEW
NO PRE SHOW FOR YOU

Disney is well known for its pre shows. They get you moving in the line but keep you occupied for a few minutes, letting you feel like you're doing something fun, when in actuality you're still waiting in line.

The most notable of these for me are:

Rockin Roller Coaster
Haunted Mansion
Tower of Terror
Smuggler's Run

I'm sure I could think of more, but you get the idea.

The pre shows are completely gone. On some rides the rooms are just dark, letting you walk right on through (and letting me finally realize that the room in Haunted Mansion is NOT an elevator), others have the show running, but you don't stop, you just keep going, like in Smuggler's Run.

Here's the place in Rockin Roller Coaster where the band would normally talk their manager into calling you a limo. Now though, it's just dark and sad. The doors never close, you're never told to fill in every available space. You move on through, staying on the markers until you're given your row to get on the coaster itself.

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ARE THERE STILL PARADES AT DISNEY DURING COVID 19?
SORT OF...

Gone are the days of the big fireworks shows, the big parades, the parties, etc. Those things are in the past, but hopefully they'll be back soon!

Instead you get to see mini parades throughout the day. This generally consists of a couple of characters in a car, on a boat, walking near a horse drawn carriage, etc.

They did seem to happen fairly frequently, I'm guessing because it's easier to get a half dozen people together as opposed to getting 100+ people together.

We saw Doc McStuffins, Vampirina, and a few princess, as well as characters going under a bridge near Tiffins when we had lunch there on our last day.

BEFORE YOU HEAD TO DISNEY, GRAB A TOURING PLAN TO MINIMIZE YOUR WAIT TIMES

IS EVERYTHING OPEN AT DISNEY DURING COVID 19?
NO, FAR FROM IT

When I say that Disney felt a little bit sad during our trip, I think this was a big reason behind it. Many things in the parks are closed. I would estimate a full 80% of the small shops, restaurants, and kiosks are closed. That means less employees, less people chatting with you and saying hello, and absolutely no smiles, none.

I'm sure they're smiling behind their masks, but it feels different, not as happy.

Entire sections of the park were closed, the entire area by Gaston's Tavern was closed down, as were most of the small shops in Hollywood Studios. At one point, as we were leaving the park in the evening, we were the only people around. No one else, no Cast Members, just us. We eventually came across some Cast Members lighting the way with their green glow sticks, but it was an eerie feeling in the meantime.

Basically the parks feel less like a place you're going to meet friends, and more like a place you're going to ride rides. Does that make sense? It feels more like any old theme park and very much less like Disney.

Pictures I took, like the one below, were the norm. You'd think it would be great, but in reality we found it to be rather lonely.

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SHOULD YOU GO TO DISNEY WORLD DURING COVID?
SIDE EFFECTS OF LESS EMPLOYEES

This is something I really want to point out because I feel like it has such an impact on your trip, but you may not think of it.

There are A LOT less employees at Disney World right now and we really felt this when we tried to get simple things done or simple requests filled.

For example, after our first day in the parks we came back to the hotel and plugged our phones into the USB charger that was provided in the room. We know Disney provides these in all of their rooms, so while we brought our own cords, we did not bring our own outlet plugs.

The USB charger was not working, even after multiple attempts at changing cords and changing where the outlet was plugged in. One side had been pushed in so far that it actually rattled around when you picked it up.

I went ahead and called down to the front desk, requesting that someone come look at the the USB port and also requesting an extra blanket. That was around 8 p.m.

After 40 minutes and no response to either request, I called back, at which time they told me they could not find the original request, but would enter it in their system. By this time I was very tired, my mom was already asleep, and I had to stay up to make sure I was there to answer the door.

15 minutes later a housekeeper brought the blanket, and a few minutes after that the engineering crew came to check out the USB port. They tested it, told me it was broken, and said they'd send someone up the next day with a replacement.

The next day, when we got back to the room, the replacement wasn't there. By this time my phone was on the last dredges of the battery and I had no way to charge it. I called downstairs again, they pulled up my original request and let me know that it was still open, so "they must have had to order a part."

I mean, I get it, I try to be understanding, but this was literally a box that was not attached to the room in any way, an item they probably had a hundred of down in a room someplace nearby.

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So we got there on Sunday, I made the request again on Monday, and then every day after that. When I finally got it replaced we had been at the hotel for FOUR DAYS, and the lady on the other end of the phone was, if not rude, right on the border of it.

To say this frustrated me would be an understatement. I had to spend more money to buy a FUEL rod in the parks because Disney couldn't bring a part up that they had on hand. I know they had it on hand because after my final phone call (which happened in the evening) they had it to me within 10 minutes.

The Contemporary isn't a cheap resort and you aren't paying COVID prices. You're paying regular prices, but you aren't getting normal service. Either they are too understaffed, or they're frustrated, I'm not sure which, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Add to it that the monorail was not working to Epcot and I found myself with very little love left for The Contemporary.

When we tried to get dinner at the Quick Service restaurant that first night, my frustration only grew. See, you have to order mobiley (is that a word?) now. You cannot order actual food by speaking to an actual person. You have to scan the QR code, which we did, then you have to wait, which we did. There aren't a lot of places to sit and it felt actively discouraged, so we stood there for 20 minutes waiting for our food, only to be told (once it showed ready) that we'd ordered from the wrong place.

So we scanned the QR code and it took us to the wrong place, where we ordered the wrong food, and paid for it.

We had to order again, wait again, and by the time we got back to the room to eat, I was totally over it.

The next morning didn't prove to be much better. I went upstairs to get two containers of Raisin Bran and two milks. I couldn't mobile order these items, but the woman manning the entrance didn't seem to want to let me into the area without a mobile order. I finally asked if I could just go look (since I didn't know what kind of cereal they had) and she let me, but I was warned not to touch anything at all.

You can't touch anything, there are metal tables in front of the coolers and anything you could have easily grabbed in the past is no longer there.

I ordered from the cashier, then waited while someone behind the tables got my order together and bagged it up. Most mornings it was fairly quick, but some days, even if there were just two people in front of me, I could easily stand in line for 15 minutes in order to get two cereals and two milks.

If they let more people into the hotels with the current protocols in place, I can envision a lot of frustrated travelers.

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DOES DISNEY WORLD CLEAN YOUR ROOM DURING COVID 19?
NO, AND NO.

I didn't take a picture of this because I didn't want you to see the room, but suffice to say if having your room cleaned each day is a big thing for you, do not go to Disney right now.

They state that they do a "light cleaning" every other day, so let me explain what that means.

We got there on a Sunday, brought our quick service meal back to our room and ate it, discarding the leftovers in their boxes in the trash.

That trash was finally emptied on Wednesday.

Now, maybe it was bad timing. I do know we came back on Tuesday around 3:30 p.m. to nap, and the trash was still there, so maybe it was supposed to be emptied that day.

The trash was emptied twice during our stay, the towels replaced the same amount of times. The beds were not made, the room was not tidied, vacuumed, etc.

And again, I understand that this is all part of going to Disney World during COVID, but you are NOT paying COVID prices. You're paying normal prices for hotel rooms, tickets, meals, etc. but you're getting service that says you should be paying much, much less.

Now, let's talk about what it's like to wear a mask in the Florida heat all day long.

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IS DISNEY WORLD TOO HOT WITH A MASK?
IN THE SUMMER, YES

We were at Disney for a week, so we experienced a variety of weather. On two days it rained, making the masks bearable, but on the other four days it was hot and sunny, making those masks sickening at best.

My lips were so chapped and swollen from constantly breathing in my own air that I was miserable by day 3. My face broke out, I got blisters around my mouth, and here I am (home for 5 days) with my lips only just now returning to normal.

I don't want to lead you wrong or give you a magical idea of what it'll be like in the parks, you're spending too much money for that. The masks are very uncomfortable unless it's raining or overcast, and you will be required to wear them unless you are seated at a restaurant table or actively eating/drinking while standing STILL.

The Cast Members will say something to you if you don't follow the rules, so be a good person and don't put them in that position. You know the rules going in, so you can only decide if you want to abide by them or postpone your trip to another date when masks are no longer required.

They do have some cute masks on sale, so if you've got to suffer in the heat, at least you can look like Mickey while you do it! (That's my mom, isn't she adorable!?)

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IS DISNEY STILL FUN WITH A MASK?
A CONVERSATION STOPPER

Something I noticed that has nothing to do with chapped lips or facial breakouts was how quiet Disney felt while we were there. At first I couldn't figure out why that was, but as Mom and I walked through the parks, not talking to each other, I realized what was going on.

When you have a mask on, you don't want to talk to people. It's frustrating. You have to talk loudly, people can't hear you, there's a lot of "What?" and "Huh?" going on, and eventually you give up, walking through the heat in silence, remembering the good old days when you could hop the parks, food and drink in hand, chatting about whatever struck your fancy.

Oh, that's another thing, no park hopping. This is a small detail for me, I found it to be less stressful not having to worry about more than one park in a day, but if you're someone who loves to hop, you might take it into consideration.

The parks also have shorter hours, even shorter now that Labor Day is over. Whereas you could spend 12 hours minimum in a park before, you might now have 7 or 8, if you're lucky. For those of you like Mom and I who like to go back to the hotel mid day to nap and recharge, this isn't possible any longer. If you leave, you won't have enough time to do the whole park, especially not when you factor in time to get back to your hotel, etc.

I'm going to wrap this up now, but I'll add anything I think of. Also, if you have questions or comments, feel free to leave them. I'm more than happy to help, if I'm able.

For us, Disney isn't the same right now, but the prices are the same, and that's my biggest problem. There is a definite change in the Disney feel, and absolutely in the service and amenities offered for your dollar. So we'll be steering clear of the mouse until masks are no longer required, as sad as that makes me. I need to know that if I'm spending pre COVID money, I'm getting a pre COVID vacation, and that's not what's happening, or at least it didn't happen on our trip.

Whatever you do, I hope this has helped you decide, and I hope, if you go, you have a wonderful time!

Ty

2 Comments

CDiamond

5/2/2021 05:45:01 am

It’s now May2021 and things at Disney are still the same, just more people in the park. Plus it’s hotter- way hotter and more miserable. Issues at the Contemporary are also the same. Unless this is the only time you’ll ever be able to go to Disney, I’d recommend you get your vaccine and wait until things are back to normal. Whatever that is!

Sheila (Ty The Hunter)

5/2/2021 07:00:02 am

Hey CDiamond, thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear it's the same. We definitely won't be going back until masks and vaccines are no longer required. My son was just asking me the other day when we'd be able to vacation again. I told him that the first place who'd accept people without those two criteria would be getting our money, lol. Hopefully 2021 will get back to normal, but I'm not honestly expecting it until 2022. Stay safe!