Last month, we recapped travel agent Stephanie Orlowski’s visit to Animal Kingdom Park during Annual Passholder previews. Today, we’re featuring BIV agent Carly Gwartney’s later experience at Magic Kingdom with her family when the park’s gates were open to the general public. We are sharing these first-hand stories to help our readers who are committed to traveling to Walt Disney World or are deliberating the pros and cons. We are not encouraging or advocating travel while Covid-19 remains present as comfort levels vary and travel at this time is a deeply personal decision. Now, here’s Carly’s recap of her visit to Magic Kingdom:
Standing in front of the revamped, pink Cinderella Castle
Back in mid-July, my husband, two daughters and I visited Walt Disney World Resort for one day during a longer trip to Orlando. I want to emphasize that I am not telling you to run out and go to Disney World. You have to make that decision for yourself and your family. I am a Travel Agent specializing in Disney trips and was familiar with all of the precautions and new protocols in place for the parks to open. If you know me, you know that I did not make this decision lightly. My family is not high-risk, and we were as safe as we could possibly be traveling and going to a theme park during a pandemic.
To reduce risk, my family booked nonstop flights with Southwest Airlines. One of the reasons that we chose Southwest is because the airline is keeping the middle seats open until at least October 31, unless a family of three would like to sit together. Southwest requires all passengers to wear masks, has installed Plexiglass at ticket and gate counters, and limits boarding to 10 passengers at a time - a work of genius and needs to be the new norm!
As another measure to reduce our risk of contraction, we rented a car at the airport to get to our hotel and the park rather than using shared transportation. Because our trip consisted of only a one-day visit to Walt Disney World Resort, we chose to stay at an Orlando Hilton hotel which has high safety standards in place including room seals to ensure your room hasn’t been touched since cleaning, extra disinfection of 10 high-touch areas in guest rooms, and disinfecting wipes at entrances and high-traffic areas.
The week before we were scheduled to be in Orlando, Disney opened sales for 2020 again. My husband and I’s nightly discussions went like this - should we include a stop at Walt Disney World or should we not? And, press repeat! After analyzing crowd levels on re-opening weekend from Disney accounts and writers, we decided to buy one-day tickets for the family. We initially wanted to visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios to see Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but the new Park Pass system - which is needed to reserve your spot in the park with limited capacity - showed that Hollywood Studios was fully reserved for the first two weeks of opening. So we went with our favorite, Magic Kingdom.
A nearly-empty Main Street in Magic Kingdom
The day we were there was unlike any Disney experience I’ve had. When we arrived at the parking payment booths that morning, it was immediately apparent that this was going to be a totally different trip. There was no one in line for parking. NO ONE. After the payment transaction, we drove all the way up to the third row from the entrance to the transportation hub! This never happens, unless you arrive super, super early. You’ll find security at the entrance to the transportation hub. Before you enter security, you undergo a temperature screening. Neither security or temperature screening had a line. Once through, we got in line for the monorail which had a small line because every party now gets their own cabin. Markers are placed everywhere a line could form, telling you where to stand to ensure social distancing.
Once we made our short trip to Magic Kingdom, the shock really started to set in: no line to get into the park; literally five families on Main Street; no line at Starbucks; and only a few people in front of Cinderella Castle (in its new, pink glory!).
In my experience, Disney cast members did an excellent job ensuring all guests adhered to the mask policy. Wearing the masks wasn’t as bad as one would think in the Florida heat. I made sure we all had light colored fabrics and masks that didn’t feel suffocating. We also took plenty of water breaks in secluded areas away from other people. There was hand sanitizer everywhere, especially before and after you get on the rides. There was also Plexiglass dividing the queue for rides - which I didn’t stand in because we were able to walk onto all the rides by the way! Yes. You heard me right. Walk on all the rides! The only ride that we had a wait was Splash Mountain because it was receiving a deep cleaning when we got in line - not to mention demand is high due to the imminent re-imagining.
Carly recommends masks made out of breathable, light fabric to withstand the Florida heat and humidity.
Although Disney has temporarily suspended character meet and greets, they continued the magic in new ways. Throughout the day, we saw characters in the cavalcades, waving to guests and dancing merrily. Periodically Disney characters would also hang out above the train station waving to guests.
Who needs parades when you can watch the new character cavalcades!
In addition to a nearly empty park, the oddest thing for me was leaving the park before sundown! The nightly Happily Ever After fireworks show is suspended, and the park closes at seven p.m. (soon to be six p.m.) We ended up leaving about one hour before close because we had rode all the rides (some more than once) and done all we wanted too. Once again, that never happens!
A few take-aways: I don’t think kids under the age of five would enjoy themselves as much as they would under a normal Disney experience - character meet and greets/dining, parades and fireworks being a big draw for littles. I also don’t think the younger kids would keep their masks on in that heat. My girls did great, but they are 11- and seven-years-old.
Disney really has done a lot of work to put the safety of its staff and guests first. When I am telling you I felt safer in Magic Kingdom than I do at my local superstore, I mean it.
And trust me, the magic can still be found at Walt Disney World - particularly with older kids and for non-first time visits!
