Things to Know About Disney World During the Pandemic

Trying to decide if you should visit Disney World during the pandemic? There are a lot of factors that can go into that decision and it definitely depends on your situation. If you decided that visiting is right for you and your family, here are some things you need to know if you are visiting Disney World since it closed due to the global pandemic.

You can also check out some of these rookie mistakes to avoid on your Disney trip!

1. You Need a Park Pass Reservation

If you started to look into a Disney World trip during COVID, one of the first things you will see is that they now have a Park Pass reservation system. This means you will need to have a reservation at the theme park you want to visit.

One of the main reasons behind this is because Disney World needs to track the capacity of the park. Requiring a reservation to enter a park means that Disney can inform people ahead of time “sorry, this park is at capacity today” rather than guests show up and find out they cannot get in.

To make a park pass reservation, make sure you have connected all of your family and friends that will be with you on your trip. Sign in to your My Disney Experience account and visit this page. You’ll be able to scroll to the date you want and select your park. It will inform you if that park is completely booked or not.

A few tips before you try and reserve your park pass –

- Connect everyone in your party through family & friends
- Make sure everyone has tickets connected to their account, if they don’t, you will not be able to reserve a park
- Triple check the date and park you want

2. Not Every Disney Hotel Resort Is Open

Since Disney World itself isn’t operating at full capacity neither are the resorts. Each resort is only holding a certain amount of guests and there are quite a few that have yet to reopen. This means you cannot stay there and any restaurants or entertainment are currently closed.

The Disney Resorts that are currently open are –

3. Fireworks and Parades Aren’t Happening

Sadly one of my favorite parts of a Disney trip is canceled, the fireworks. Since they attract large crowds, fireworks and parades have both been canceled since Disney World reopened.

Disney did add cavalcades around all four parks to make up for the lack of parades though! There are no set schedules for them so you just need to be there at the right times. There are usually a few different versions of cavalcades in each park.

One thing to note is they happen during the day! You’ll have to catch them before it gets dark.

If you are around any of the areas below during a cavalcade you will notice the music suddenly gets a bit louder and changes. This gives you a nice heads up so you can get your camera ready! You’ll also notice cast members directing people to get out of the way.

Magic Kingdom’s version goes through the normal parade route through Frontierland, to Liberty Square, around the hub in front of the castle and down Main Street USA.

Animal Kingdom’s has water cavalcades that travel throughout the park. Personally, my favorite place to watch them is from Nomad Lounge. You can enjoy some delicious food and drink while waiting for them to go by.

Hollywood Studios you can catch the cavalcades going from the park entrance, heading toward the Chinese Theater, and then turning down again to head by Star Tours.

Epcot cavalcades go around the World Showcase.

4. There Are Only a Few Character Meals Open

Character dining is one of my favorite things to do at Disney World. Even though all of my trips are currently adults-only trips, I still try to do at least one character meal when I visit.

Topolino’s Terrace is one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, character meals at Disney. Luckily it is one of the few character meals that is currently open! While the experience is socially distant and might not be what you expect, it still has amazing food. Plus you cannot beat that view!

Located over at Hollywood Studios, Hollywood and Vine has their social distant character meal options open as well. They even have switched up their menu. They are currently not a buffet! I have actually heard that the food has gotten a solid upgrade. Hollywood & Vine also has their seasonal themes going on so you can see the characters in their festive outfits!

Garden Grill in Epcot is also open! Although it seems like they are only open for lunch and dinner. Which is a shame because their giant cinnamon roll is amazing.

Disney is constantly updating and changing what is open and what is not. For any character dining, I highly suggest you make your reservations 60 days ins advance.

I will say, I made reservations for our upcoming trip and still had Disney call to cancel them. Just keep in mind, since everything is topsy turvy, keep an open mind when planning.

5. You Need to Learn Mobile Order for Quick Service

Mobile Order quickly became one of my favorite things to come from the pandemic. If you want to eat at almost any quick service throughout the parks and resorts, you’ll need to use mobile order.

There are positives and negatives that come with having to use mobile order to get food. The biggest drawback is you need to reserve a time to pick up your food. This means you might have to plan ahead for quick service.

Most restaurants won’t be an issue, but some of the popular ones, such as Woody’s Lunch Box, you might have to reserve your spot earlier in the day.

The great thing about mobile order is you don’t have to wait in line! You can view the menu items on your My Disney Experience app and order directly from there.

They won’t start making your food until you tell them too. When it is your pick-up window make sure you tell them you are there and they’ll start making your food so it is fresh!

6. Pack Multiple Masks Per Day

Florida is hot. I’m sure you already know that. Even when it is a cold-weather season, it can get fairly hot during the day. Packing extra masks helps make sure you are always using clean masks to help protect yourself and others. Not to mention, who wants to wear sweaty masks the entire trip?

Disney updated their rule about wearing face masks in the park. You can remove your masks in designated relaxation areas throughout the various parks. You may also remove your face mask when you are actively eating or drinking, but you must remain stationary and socially distanced. As of April 8, you may also remove masks for photos that are outdoors as long as you are socially distant from others not in your group.

Disney sells plenty of masks themselves if you wanted to still dress in Disney gear while you are on your trip. I personally like to shop small for magical style items, even masks. I actually got mine at 1953 Designs! You can use my code to get a 15% discount – KELLY15.

7. Disney Dining Reservations Are Now 60 Days In Advance, Not 180

I touched on this a little bit during the character dining, but advanced dining reservations are not 60 days out of your trip not 180 days.

The list of open restaurants seems to be constantly changing. There are various reasons for this, but just something to keep in mind.

Most of the hard reservations to get are still difficult. So places like California Grill or any character dining could be hard to grab. Don’t lose hope, keep trying up until your actual trip. I once got a reservation for California Grill brunch as I was getting on my flight the night before.

If one of the restaurants you were looking forward to trying is not open, keep checking before your trip as well. If it is in a resort that hasn’t opened yet, it is unlikely that will open for your trip if it’s within the 60 day period. However, if you are planning a trip for 2021, absolutely keep checking.

8. You Can Park Hop Again

Park hopping is one of my favorite things to do at Disney. It originally was gone when Disney World reopened, however, it is back now!

It looks a bit different from before because they still need to watch park capacity. You only need to have a park reservation for the first park you are visiting that day. After 2 pm, if you have a ticket with park hopping capability, you are free to visit any park that isn’t at capacity.

An easy way to find out if it is, simply call (407) 560-5000!

A few tips to park hopping successfully. Keep an eye on the availability calendar. This will give you an idea if the potential to park hop is there. If a park is already filled with reservations for the day, it will be extremely unlikely you can visit later via park hopping.

Another thing to note, if you want to get boarding passes for Rise of the Resistance, you have to have a park reservation for Hollywood Studios that day!

9. Annual Passes Are Not On Sale

This was a big one for a lot of people. If you are already an annual passholder you can renew your pass. However, if you are not, they are not selling any annual passes at this time.

There are quite a few people who do not buy an annual pass every year, but rather plan two trips within a year of each other so they can get annual pass perks. When I became a passholder I bought tickets for a trip and during that trip, I simply upgraded my pass and paid the difference.

This is something a lot of people tend to do when buying a pass since they will already be there. Plus there are usually a few ways to save money by doing this as well.

One thing Disney is getting a little more lenient on is people who were annual passholders, but did not renew. A lot of people decided during the pandemic to cancel their annual passes because they couldn’t go to the parks, they didn’t feel comfortable returning, or they simply couldn’t afford it anymore. Whatever the reason, they did not know by cancelling that they wouldn’t have the option to become a passholder.

Disney has started listening to cases like that and allowing people to get their annual passes back since the parks have reopened. I have not heard any case of a new annual passholder being able to buy one though.

10. You’ll Still Have to Wait In Line for Attractions

Yes, I am fully aware of how odd this one sounds, but just hear me out.

When Disney World first reopened, practically all rides were walk-on availability. Even incredibly popular rides like Flight of Passage you could get on in under 30 minutes.

As the people became more comfortable traveling, the weather became less disgustingly hot, and the popular vacation times rolled around, this has since changed. Disney is now seeing crowds again, but by no means the normal level of crowds you’d see this time of year.

Make sure you pay attention to the posted wait times or ask cast members. Since social distancing measures are in place the lines are sometimes not as long as they appear.

There have also been layoffs from park entertainment so a lot of the things that would help with attraction lines do not currently exist.

I’m not saying this to tell you you shouldn’t go, it is more so you are aware there are still going to be wait times and leads me to my next point.

11. There Are No Fastpasses

There are currently no fastpasses for any attractions. This means your only option for rides is to wait in line.

If you are anything like me before a trip, you might have been looking at wait times on the app while you are at home. You will have noticed that while it might not be the hours on hours-long waits that are common this time of year, they also aren’t completely walk on.

There are plenty of rides that I normally only ride if I have a fastpass. This means I never see the regular queue. I’m choosing to think of it as a silver lining that this change forces me to see the imagineering behind some of the rides, such as Peter Pan’s Flight since everyone raves about that queue.

The biggest thing about having no fastpasses means you might have to be a bit more strategic in your ride selection and when you get to the parks. The truth remains that the more popular rides, try to ride either at the beginning of the day or as park closes.

Big tip, a lot of the parks open before they say they do. If you can get yourself moving early enough, do it. Grab breakfast on the go and head over to the park an hour before it actually opens.

The park’s “advanced” opening before the actual scheduled open time can vary a lot, but it can make all the difference if you are there to rope drop a park. I’m talking about the difference between a 20-minute wait and over an hour wait.

12. You’ll Still See Characters in the Parks, But It Will Look Different

You will still be able to see the characters you know and love, however, it won’t look the same. Even the characters at Disney World are practicing social distancing.

You will see plenty of characters if you catch the cavalcades. However, those are not the only opportunities to see your favorite Disney characters.

For example, when you walk into Magic Kingdom a lot of times you will see some of your favorites standing at the train station waving to guests entering the park. Around Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, you’ll still see stormtroopers, Kylo Ren, Chewbacca, and more standing above on platforms throughout the land. These are not the only ones you’ll find, but just a few!

13. Magical Express

Magical Express will be coming to an end at the end of 2021, however, it is currently still running. The biggest difference is that you are responsible for your own luggage both to and from the airport.

Normally with Magical Express you’d have the option of Disney picking up your checked luggage and delivering it to your hotel room. You would also have the option of Disney checking your luggage from your resort so that you don’t have to check it at the airport. You are no solely responsible to pick up and drop off your bags.

Disney will still pick you up and drop you off at the airport for free if you are staying at a Disney resort!