We finally have some news about when Walt Disney World will begin their theme park (starting July 11) and resort (starting June 22) reopening. Along with those critical dates, we also have a bit more information on what the initial phases of reopening will look like.
Exploring Fort Wilderness can be a great way to relax.
At least at the beginning, there will fewer activities that draw stagnant crowds. This means no parades or fireworks and limited character greetings. Guest capacity will be reduced (you’ll need a reservation to get into a theme park), meaning fewer lines and shorter wait times. It’s likely that you’ll be able to get through all the available park attractions, even multiple times, in a single day, or even part of a day.
Additionally, park hours are changing. Epcot is starting out opening the entire park at 11:00 a.m., rather than its usual 9:00 a.m. for the Future World attractions. Even with Extra Magic Hours, the Magic Kingdom will be closing at 9:00 p.m. at first, a contrast to the usual post-midnight closings during the summer.
All of this means that there will simply be fewer things to do in the theme parks and less time available to spend there.
It’s a truism that many guests complain about needing a vacation from their Disney World vacation. If you were in pre-COVID kamikaze theme park mode, you may have found yourself up for rope drop in the wee hours of the morning and then running straight through until the Kiss Goodnight. During a long trip to WDW in February 2020, I averaged over nine miles a day of walking, trying to work in all the available activities. With the new hours, required park reservations, and reduced number of attractions, that ride-or-die, I’ll-sleep-when-I’m-dead mode of WDW touring simply won’t be possible for a while.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s a good thing. A formerly hectic Disney World vacation will look a little more like a relaxing Disney Cruise Line vacation, where you have some structured activities, along with lots of time to just chill.
For example, on a Disney Cruise Line sea day, my family will typically go to some of the planned events like onboard classes or entertainment, but we also spend lots of time reading books on our stateroom verandah, playing board games, watching movies, napping, and generally being lazy. While we are more active with touring during shore days, we tend to leave DCL vacations relaxed and refreshed. This is not always the case with our Walt Disney World vacations.
If you are planning a Disney World vacation this summer, you will likely have more down time than previous trips. I encourage you to think of that time as a gift – a way to reset the former frenzied mode of touring. Consider ways to build more relaxation into your vacation: sit by the pool and read a novel, take a leisurely bike ride around Fort Wilderness, play card games with your family, or take a boat ride on Bay Lake.
The slow restart may be just be the vacation your vacation needs.
This week’s SATURDAY SIX takes a look at the DO’S and DON’TS of the new safety protocols at theme parks! Both the Universal Orlando Resort and Walt Disney World are about to re-open their theme parks for the first time in over two months, but “out of an abundance of caution” comes new safety measures put in place for guests.
Enter, David and Derek.
For those uninitiated, “David and Derek” are a nod to the classic “Goofus and Gallant” formula. David is David Davies, a longtime TouringPlans analyst and IT strategist whose hobbies include solitaire, HTML coding, and nitpicking. Derek is Your Humble Author. Together the two cover all the important Do’s and Don’ts of the theme park world, but specialize in hot topics such as Guest Etiquette at the Disney Parks, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Dog-Friendly Hotels, and vacation planning. This week, the two tackle a subject that everyone is thinking about… the new safety measures at Disney and Universal. We’re joined by superstar artist Brian Cooper to examine the right ways – and more importantly – the wrong ways, for each step of the new protocols. Remember, we’re all in this together, so without further ado, let’s kick off the countdown with…
At both Universal and Disney, guests will be given a mandatory temperature check upon arrival. Guests with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or greater will not be admitted. As we have already seen at Universal CityWalk and Disney Springs, both companies have an area set aside for guests who have a temperature over 100.4 degrees. This area will allow a guest the opportunity to “cool down” and be retested to see if the high reading was caused by external factors instead of a possible fever.
# 4 – Face Coverings
At both Disney and Universal, every guest (ages 2 and up) is required to wear a face covering during their visit. The coverings must fully cover an individual’s nose and mouth, while allowing the guest to remain hands-free. There are no ifs, ands, or buts to this policy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends face coverings in areas of significant community-based transmission (AKA “theme parks”).
# 3 – Contactless payments
One thing that has seen a massive increase over the last two months across America is the amount of businesses giving customers the option of having their transactions be contactless. This can include things such as pizza delivery drivers leaving your order outside the front door, to being able to pay at supermarkets with your phone (rather than putting your credit card in a machine or handing an employee cash). In the Orlando theme parks, mobile ordering and contactless payments had just started to grow in the past year or so, but it is expected that most venues – if not all – will have these options going forward. We’ve already seen with Universal that several of their CityWalk establishments – including Voodoo Doughnut – now give guests the option to pre-order and pay for their purchases with their phone, then pick up their purchase without ever having step foot into the actual venue.
# 2 – Social Distancing
Guests are expected to practice social distancing and keep at least 6 feet (2 meters) between their travel party and others. Both Universal and Disney have put markings throughout their resort to help guests keep their distance from each other. If it’s hard to picture the distance of 6 feet in your mind, think about the distance in terms more relatable to theme park fans. 6 Feet is the approximately the size of 3 Minions from Despicable Me, 4 large pizzas from Via Napoli, the height of a Disneyland pressed penny machine, or an eBay pirate’s merchandise haul.
# 1 – Hand Washing
Guests are encouraged to wash their hands with soap and water often, and for at least 20 seconds. Like when it comes to brushing our teeth, many people wildly overestimate the time they put into simple things like washing their hands. Much like rope-dropping a theme park and standing in front of the park’s front gates, time stands still when you are in front of a sink. 20 seconds can seem like 20 minutes. It’s recommended to hum a tune or sing a song to make sure you are scrubbing for an appropriate length of time. Many people hum the “alphabet song” or sing the “Happy Birthday song” twice. Thankfully theme park fans have a full library of catchy songs and well known tunes to pass the time. And guess what? If you like to recite the Ghost Host spiel from the Haunted Mansion’s stretching room, now’s your time because WE DON’T WANT TO HEAR YOU DO IT IN THE PARKS.
So there you have it: DAVID AND DEREK look at the Do’s and Don’ts of new safety protocols at the theme parks! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out The Magic, The Memories, and Merch! articles covering the latest from the Disney Outlet Stores. You can also follow Your Humble Author on Twitter (@derekburgan).
If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following:
The Adventures of David and Derek are truly made possible due to the amazingly talented artist Brian Cooper. Be sure to check Brian out on Instagram, Twitter, and his own website.
Many, many changes are occurring right now with the Walt Disney World Resort. From the cancellation of Disney Dining Plans, Advance Dining Reservations, and FastPass+ to the news that there will, in fact be a reservation system in place for entering the park, to the news that currently you cannot purchase tickets to enter the parks, things have been coming in fast and furious. And with that, I have another piece of news, but this time, it’s a little more positive.
According to theme park reporter extraordinaire, Carlye Wisel, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party will be a go this year. Tickets that have already been purchased will remain valid and will not be cancelled.
CONFIRMED: Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party tickets will *remain valid* and not be canceled.
Now, with this news, that leaves many many other questions. We know there likely won’t be a parade, or fireworks, or a stage show, due to information put forth from Disney about normal park operations. (These things will be suspended during the regular park day.) But what will the parties entail? Unfortunately, at this point, we just don’t have an official answer. All we do know is that Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party will continue this year.
Stay tuned to the blog for more information regarding the parties and what Guests will be able to expect if they have tickets for the event.
While this is vastly more information than we had a few days ago, there are still many questions about how the opening will roll out and what the new Disney normal will look like. Here are some that we have (in no particular order):
Will there be social distancing measures implemented on the attractions? Will they look like some of our predictions?
If everyone is mobile ordering quick-service food, how will they streamline the pick up procedures?
How will mask use be enforced?
Will there be rules for trying on or returning theme park merchandise?
Since many of the international cast members returned home, how will the Epcot World Showcase pavilions be staffed?
Will Disney’s buffet service restaurants be reconfigured to another form of service? If so, how long will this last?
If character greetings are temporarily suspended (as mentioned in the Parks Blog), how will character meals be impacted? Will the pricing change for those venues?
Will evening activities be added to the resorts?
Will some resorts be temporarily closed or repurposed (stationing the NBA at Coronado Springs is one rumor), and if so, how will guests with reservations there be relocated?
Will fill-your-own candy stations in resort shops be eliminated?
Will the resort refillable mug program be changed? Will guests be allowed to fill their own beverage cups?
Will resort recreation rentals be altered?
How will the pattern for interactive attractions change when everyone is wearing masks? Will there be new jokes for the Jungle Cruise, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, or Turtle Talk with Crush?
If some queues move outdoors, how will guests be sheltered from the sun? Will there be umbrellas in the walkways?
Other than masks for sale, will there be any other merchandise that addresses the virus situation? Jokey tees? Plush toys wearing masks?
How will guests be instructed to social distance in resort bars and lounges?
These are just a few of the near infinite number of questions we have about the new Walt Disney World. What did we miss? What are you thinking about? Let us know in the comments.
We’re about to test Mickey’s theory in ways that he probably didn’t anticipate.
We now have a better idea what touring a Walt Disney World theme park might look like after the COVID-19 lockdown. Here are our first thoughts.
First, an acknowledgement. We aren’t saying that you should feel comfortable going to a theme park when they open and we aren’t saying you shouldn’t feel comfortable either. The fact is, people will be in the parks when they re-open and we want to provide the best touring advice we can for those that go.
Admission to the parks will be like a special event. Think Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party but during the day. So, that means:
No FastPass+
Limited admission
A subset of available attractions
That’s right, no FastPasses. For the first time since 1999, all Walt Disney World attractions will be standby only. This opens up the physical space in the queues which allows easier control of the spaces between guests in line. It isn’t clear whether or not some standby queues will use virtual queues. Limited admission is not a surprise, but the way to buy tickets is still a mystery. Some attractions may be closed or may operate with less than normal capacity.
Here’s the good news:
Our TouringPlans software is ready to handle these new park conditions. In fact, without FastPass+ the process of optimizing a touring plan becomes simpler. We know what wait times to expect based on our knowledge of the attractions, our database of wait times collected during normal hours, and wait times collected during party events with limited admission.
The touring plans have always had dedicated “day of” wait-time models, whose only job is to look at what’s happening a park right now, and make predictions for the rest of the day. Those models update every 5 minutes while the parks are open, so you’ll be able to react quickly to whatever changes happen. We’re already updating our long-term wait time forecasts to account for limited admission and changes to ride capacity.
Here’s the less-good news:
You’ll need a reservation to get into the parks. Pent-up demand for returning to the parks and a limited supply of reservations might make visits hard to come by. We don’t know much about the system that will be in place to get a park-entry reservation. If you’re able to get them, touring the parks with an optimized plan will be a breeze.
Stay tuned for more details as they arrive and watch for a crowd calendar update in the near future.
