Disney World in masks? How is that going to work? I had the same questions rolling though my head. We’re big Disney fans and we usually end up going every couple years to the parks in Florida.

This year however we didn’t really plan on going… until we were already in Florida on vacation and heard how low the crowds were. Right now Disney is only letting in a certain number of guests to control crowds and allow social distancing. So, we decided to check in and see if any reservations were open and to our surprise… Animal Kingdom had some openings! So we went for it and bought tickets. We had gone to Disney Springs the day before and it wasn’t very busy, which had us intrigued… Are the parks like this too we thought? And after talking to cast members about all Disney is doing to keep safe we felt confident in going. We bought our tickets and set off to get ready for our “socially distanced” day at the parks!

Here’s a video my daughter and I put together to share our experience!

Pros, Cons and Takeaways From Our Trip, July 2020

PROS:

• No waiting in lines for rides! (Ex: from 8am to 3pm we rode Flight of Passage – Avatar Ride 4 times (usually a super long wait!), Everest Roller Coster 2 times, Safari Ride, Dinosaur Ride 2 times, Kali River Rapids, Jungle Trek, and stopped to eat lunch.

• Disney did a great job keeping things clean and sanitizing. There are sanitizers after every ride, and all cast members wear a shield and mask. And physical distancing markers are everywhere. We were never close to people other than our family.

• You won’t wait in lines for food. Even quick service ordering is different. You order everything from your phone and you’re notified when your food is ready for pick up.

CONS:

• Not everything was open yet… No shows (Finding Nemo or Lion King), and not all restaurants are open. No fireworks, no parades either. One of my favorite quick service places is Pizzafari (great gluten free pizza options there!) was turned into a “mask free relaxation areas”, which are great if you need a break.

• You do lose a little bit of that magical experience…. We just felt with not everything being open it didn’t quite feel the same. Sure it’s nice walking on every ride with no wait (well, worth it for us!), but if you have little kids coming, especially for the first time I would say to wait so they can experience Disney in full magic mode.

A few more takeaways…

• Disney did a great job in our opinion. Top notch, as always. We felt very safe every where we went throughout Animal Kingdom.

• Everyone wore their mask. I was really wondering how they were gonna make sure people wore them… but I never saw one person without one on – even kids. It wasn’t a problem.

• Yes, it’s hot with a mask on all day at the parks, but honestly it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be for us. We did it with no complaints. It got pretty hot on our day, but we were in and out of rides so much it really helped with the heat. If you’re someone that really struggles using one though… probably not the best time for a trip. But the mask free relaxation stations are helpful too.

I hope this helps for everyone wondering about what Disney’s reopening looks like… or at least for Animal Kingdom!

-Sara

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