Disney During Covid

We did it! It had been over a year since we had gone to Disney world and we were just itching for some Mickey magic. So we decided to just give it a go!
There are many changes that have happened in Disney due to the Covid pandemic. Hours have been shortened, shows have been closed, masks have been implemented, and character meet and greets are no longer available. Because of all of these changes, we wondered if Disney would still be worth it. Especially since the prices have stayed the same.
So in this post, my goal is to give you all my thoughts on our recent trip. We only went for two days and spent our park days in Magic Kingdom and Disneys Hollywood Studios.

Entering the Parks:

The parks hours change by the month. So it’s necessary to check those often when planning your trip. When we went, both parks were operating from 9 am to 7 pm. I highly recommend arriving to the park at least 30 minutes before opening. It does take a while to walk in from the parking lot, especially at Magic Kingdom. There are temperature scans at the gates but these moved very quickly. Everyone 2 years old and up was given a temperature scan, but they did not bother scanning babies temps.
Masks are required for ages 2 and up. We were all asked to put ours on before entering the gates.

From parking lot to walking into Magic Kingdom, it took us 45 minutes. We rode the ferry boat instead of the monorail. The ferry boat is always faster, so definitely head towards that!

On the contrary, Disney Studios was much faster to get into. I still recommend arriving early to the park because you want to be there for rope drop (park opening) to hop on the new rides quickly.

Time to Ride!

Once in the parks, you’ll obviously want to head towards your favorite rides. I have a post featuring our Magic Kingdom Itinerary that works perfectly at any time! You can find that here.

Don’t be intimidated by the ridiculously long lines. All lines are socially distanced with 6 ft markers but they move very quickly. While in both parks, we never waited more than 35 minutes for a ride. If you have little ones who can’t ride certain rides, make sure to use the rider swap passes! These are still offered and are life savers for doing Disney with little ones. Need more info on Rider Swap? Click here to learn more.

All About Masks:

Our biggest concern for going to Disney during Covid was the strictness on masks. All guests ages 2 and up are required to wear masks in the parks. Whether outside, inside, or on a ride. You could only take them off while sitting down and actively eating or drinking. My middle is 2 and we did not know how she would handle having to constantly wear a mask. But it actually went smoother than we expected.

My 2 year old was asked to put on her mask at the front and while entering the parks. Once inside, she did remove her mask without any issues while walking around/ riding in her stroller. We went through every line without her wearing a mask and she was only asked to put one on right before getting onto a ride. All the cast members were very kind in asking her to wear it and there were never any harsh comments made towards her. My 5 year old also often took her mask off while walking around in the parks and no comments were made towards her. I had purchased these mask lanyards for all of us, and they were extremely helpful in keeping up with them, especially for the kids.

As for the adults, Disney was quite strict still. I was able to remove mine any time I sat down without any issues. Usually I was sitting to the side to nurse Remi. We were able to take small drinks of things while walking around, but not much. There have been rumors that cast members will stop rides in the middle if someone removes their mask but that did not happen for us. We often pulled our masks down on roller coasters and such without any issues.
When walking around, if our masks had slipped down, cast members would kindly remind us to pull them up.

We went in the middle of January and the weather was perfection! The temperature never rose above 72. If it had been any hotter than 75, I do think the masks would have been slightly miserable to wear. Even with the nice weather, we made sure to bring fresh masks to change into throughout the day. We also brought mints with us to help keep fresh breath and prevent our mouths from feeling too dry.

If you are planning on going, make sure to get comfortable masks with adjustable ear loops. And very breathable fabrics! The Disney masks are made of a synthetic material and tend to trap smells and moisture very easily. I used masks from Old Navy and really liked them. They were light, breathable, and adjustable.

Quick Service Restaurants and Dining:

All quick service restaurants now require a virtual queue line and mobile orders to order your food. This was a bit of an adjustment for us, because most places you could not just walk up and order. You had to reserve a time through your My Disney Experience App and order your food through there. This added a little extra planning into the mix as spots fill up throughout the day and you usually need to reserve your time at least an hour in advance. On the bright side, you are guaranteed a table when you go in to pick up your mobile order. This is a really nice perk, that seats are readily available!

Even when ordering through the mobile order, they have many options to customize your meals based on allergies or preferences.

Shows, Parades, and Characters:

I mentioned earlier that shows, parades, and character meet and greets are no longer available. This was a disappointment for us and did take away from some of the Disney magic. Each park does have pop up appearances by characters, but you have to be in the right place at the right time to have a chance of seeing them. These are all surprise appearances, so there’s no guarantee you will see them. Surprisingly, Disney Studios had MANY more characters pop up throughout the day than Magic Kingdom did.

In Magic Kingdom, the princesses were lined up at the front gate to wave hello to entering guests. Then we saw Tinker Bell once more throughout the day but that was all for Magic Kingdom.

In Disney Studios, we saw the following characters pop up:

• Rey
• Chewbacca
• Kylo Ren
• Storm Troopers
• Woody
• Jessie
• Buzz Lightyear
• Sulley
• Mickey and Minnie
• Goofy
• Pluto
• The Incredibles

We saw many of these characters multiple times throughout the day, which was such a treat!

Which Parks Should I Go To?

You can look up all the currently open rides and shows in all the parks on the My Disney Experience App. Magic Kingdom is always the best park to do with little kids and babies. There are so many rides for the whole family! This park will for sure take up an entire day of fun if you plan to ride all the rides.

The second best park, in my opinion, is Disneys Hollywood Studios. In the last 5 years, they have added so many attractions to this park! There isn’t quite as much for babies to ride, but there is the new Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway (a blast!) and Toy Story Mania. Disney Studios does still offer a few shows for littles like the Disney Junior Show, Frozen Singalong, Muppet 3D Theatre, and a Mickey Short film theatre. Galaxy’s Edge (Star Wars Land) is an all around cool experience with lots of fun drinks and snacks to try.

We usually love Animal Kingdom, but they have so many things closed right now that we opted to skip this park. Their main attractions for kids are mostly closed along with every show except one. This park is usually easy to get through all the rides during normal times. I do not think it would be worth your money to visit during Covid restrictions.

We have not yet tried Epcot, but I think it would still be enjoyable to go to. All the rides are still available and most of their shows are outside anyway, so these seem to not be affected. The Frozen Ride and Nemo ride in Epcot are both very fun for kids! Epcot is always deemed our “relaxing day” and we tend to go between Magic Kingdom and Disney Studios. They have the most shortened hours out of all the parks at the moment. And just plan to eat and drink lots of tasty things here!

When we do all four parks, this is the order we go to them in:

• Magic Kingdom
• Epcot
• Disney Studios
• Animal Kingdom

*Something important to note! At this time, when you buy your tickets you also have to reserve which days you will be in certain parks. The park capacity has been filling up quickly, so be sure to reserve your park days ASAP when buying your tickets.

In Conclusion:

Even with the many changes and restrictions, we do not regret going to Disney during Covid. Our kids had an absolute blast and had no complaints about their masks. They were just excited to be on vacation in their favorite place. Disney does have decreased wait times, so that was a definite plus since there are no fast passes being offered at this time. If you plan to go, be prepared with what to expect. Most importantly, have fun and enjoy sweet time with your friends and family!

Have any more questions for me? Please comment below and I would love to help in any way I can!