Visiting Disney During COVID-19

Everything You Need to Know

*Update* I have since tested negative for the coronavirus! Health officials confirmed on Monday, August 10, that no cases have been linked to Walt Disney World since they opened. I definitely still feel comfortable visiting Disney during COVID-19!

If you know me, you know that I absolutely love Disney World. It’s my happy place, my favorite vacation spot, and all around most magical place on Earth. I also take coronavirus precautions very seriously, having already had the virus and having high risk family members. But, after some consideration, I decided to take a weekend trip. So, I’m here to share everything you need to know about a trip to and visiting Disney World during COVID-19.

Food Ordering

Currently, many of the dining options are closed so your options are limited. For table service restaurants, you will need a reservation, although they were quite flexible. For 2 of our 3 dinners, we were hungry at least an hour early and they seated us immediately both times. If you are at quick service restaurants, you must utilize the Mobile Order feature to order in the My Disney Experience App.

You select the restaurant you want, your arrival window, and then order. Once your arrival window opens, you go to the restaurant, wait outside, and select “I am here”. Then, the restaurant prepares your order. The app then notifies you when it’s ready and a Cast Member directs you to which line to go to. The seating areas are arranged for proper social distancing and I was really impressed to see how guests were not moving the signs that said tables were unavailable.

One thing to note–there are no refills right now to limit contact with guests. Make sure to take advantage of free water cups to stay hydrated!!

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Mask Wearing

When on Disney property, masks must be worn at all times except for when guests are actively eating and drinking while stationary. In other words, you cannot be walking around and drinking or eating. If walking around, whether in lines or across the park, you must have a mask on. Cast members were absolutely terrific at enforcing this.

In front of Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom, a family was finishing their Mickey bars in front of the entrance. A cast member told them they either had to put their masks on or go sit at a table. I even had a cast member talk to me when I took a picture in front of the castle! I was the only person there (besides my dad who was taking the picture) and my mask was back on before she even got to me and she just politely asked me to not remove my mask. So, rest assured, the CMs are definitely paying attention to mask wearing and will correct people who are wearing them below their nose or not at all.

I was a bit worried about children being fussy about wearing them, but I never saw a child who wasn’t wearing a mask! Remember, they see everything we do so be a good example for them.

Social Distancing

Overall, social distancing was quite easy to accomplish while at the parks. Anything that has a line had markers on the ground of where to stand, which people for the most part followed. If they weren’t followed, it was when guests didn’t understand that 6 feet of space isn’t just for in front of and behind you, but also next to you. There were announcements all throughout the day that reminded guests to follow social distancing, in addition to signs throughout the park. Honestly, you could not miss any of the signs and announcements! Even at the Ticket and Transportation Center to line up for the monorail, they did a fantastic job.

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Social distancing was also easier because the crowds were so, so low! During my Animal Kingdom day, we rode every single ride twice and still had a sit down meal, a sit down Dole Whip break, shopping time, and lots of picture time. The longest we waited was 30 minutes for Flight of Passage. Some of the wait times were just to account for the time it took to walk on the ride. We never actually stopped and waited at all. It was definitely very nice to not feel like I had to rush to ride everything I wanted.

As far as distancing on the rides, for rides like Many Adventures of the Winnie the Pooh, each party got their own ride. For rides like Kali River Rapids, two seats were kept between all parties, so the two times I rode that, there was another family across from us, but not next to us. On rides like Big Thunder Mountain, there were two rows between every party, which worked out to be one family per car most of the time.

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Character Meet and Greets

As part of the precautions to keep everyone healthy, there are currently not traditional character experiences while visiting Disney during COVID-19. In the Magic Kingdom, characters were at the Train Station to greet guests as they entered and left. The picture below was when I first got to the park but when I left that evening, the characters included Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Pooh Bear, Tigger, and Gaston. Throughout the day, some characters also came out on the trolley and rode down Main Street and waved to guests. I also saw Stitch in Tomorrowland up on the dance stage taking selfies from a distance with guests.

At the Animal Kingdom, characters rode through the water on a boat driven by a CM dancing to music and waving to guests. I saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Daisy, and Donald at Animal Kingdom. Similar types of interactions happen at Hollywood Studios and EPCOT.

Is Visiting Disney During COVID-19 Safe?

Overall, I genuinely felt safer at Disney World than I did in my own grocery store. People listened to the social distancing and mask rules, respected the ground marks on where to stand, and were respectful of other people’s spaces. People were so careful that no one would take a picture of my dad and I; although that sucks for us, I am so glad that people are taking it so seriously! There was hand sanitizer at every ride’s entrance, loading zone, and exit. Hand sanitizer is also found throughout the queues and the parks. Definitely no lack of hand sanitizer!

I noticed that the people who were visiting were all avid fans. Many people were wearing merchandise that was no longer for sale. Others wore different Disney shirts with 2015, 2017, etc on them. I think these people know that if rules are not followed and it’s deemed unsafe, the parks will close again and no one wants that.

On that note, I don’t know if I would suggest going to Disney right now if it’s going to be your first visit or perhaps your only visit for many years. Although still magical, it was not quite the same Disney magic. Without all of the shops & restaurants open, characters out, and typical shows , you won’t get the full experience.

Would I go back again? Yes!

Visiting Disney during COVID-19 was definitely a positive experience and I already have a December trip planned! I am looking forward to it and feel 10000% safe going back. I just don’t think you’d want to spend your money to go to Disney right now if you’ve never been before or if you are going to be disappointing that you didn’t get to have one-on-one character interactions and see fireworks.