Walt Disney World during COVID-19
Magic Kingdom
Upon arriving at Disney, we parked at the Transportation and Ticket Center. We first had to go through a temperature screening station to ensure that we were allowed to enter the park. This was a very easy process and from the very beginning you are required to wear a mask.
After the temperature check, we then rode the Ferry over to the Magic Kingdom. From the very beginning social distancing was in place because there were assigned spots you could stand on while on the ferry. However, the boarding process was a little hectic because everyone was still hurrying to get on the ferry.
As we walked into the Magic Kingdom, the princesses greeted everyone from the train station. Character experiences are currently very different to ensure that social distancing is in place, but the Disney magic is certainly still alive!
Along with seeing characters throughout the park, they also had several different parade floats constantly around the park with even more characters!
Masks & More…
Once we got into the park we went straight to the Emporium on Main Street and bought some of the Disney themed face masks! They were all super cute!
Luckily Starbucks was open, which was the most popular dining location for the morning because the dining selections were very limited due to COVID-19.
This link on the Walt Disney World website tells you every dining location that is currently open. A cast member informed us that the menus are also different than what they would normally be, so keep that in mind!
We took our Starbucks over to a “Relaxation Station” where we could sit down at a table, take off our face masks, and enjoy a break from the hot Florida sun!
There were many “Relaxation Stations” around the park so that you could find somewhere to rest at any point during your visit!
The wait times were surprisingly short for the Magic Kingdom and social distancing was enforced in every line! They also stopped every two hours and disinfected the rides.
If you plan on spending the entire day at the Magic Kingdom, it is definitely possible to ride all the rides since the wait times are so reasonable! This is very rare for Walt Disney World, so I was glad we went and took the opportunity to be able to ride a lot more rides than we would normally have time for!
Splash Mountain!
I was also very glad that we decided to go because this was our last time riding Splash Mountain before the theme is changed to Princess and the Frog. This ride is a Disney classic that I will definitely miss, but I’m so glad I got to experience it one last time!
EPCOT
We spent the second day at EPCOT and the crowd levels were even lower for this park! We were able to ride every ride with extra time to spare!
Food & Wine Festival
EPCOT is currently hosting my favorite festival of the year: The Food & Wine Festival! This festival usually takes place in the fall, but with COVID-19, they decided to move it to when they reopened!
You can purchase this Ratatouille “Hide & Squeak” map at the “Port of Entry” shop right before you enter the World Showcase. With this map, you can search for a hidden Remy in each country and place the correct sticker with each country on the map. Once you complete it, you can take it back to the store and get a little souvenir as a prize!
World Showcase Marketplace
There is a building specifically for the Food and Wine Festival located between Canada and the United Kingdom and it is the perfect location to get some snacks and cool off!
This location featured different stations with festival favorites including a mac and cheese station, a dessert station, and more!
We also tried several different dishes around World Showcase and all of them were delicious! To access the menus for each location, download the My Disney Experience app!
Visiting EPCOT during the Food & Wine Festival is definitely a must-do!
Flower & Garden Festival
EPCOT is also currently hosting another one of my favorite festivals: The Flower & Garden Festival! Since they did not get to finish the festival before the parks closed due to COVID-19, Disney decided to extend the Flower & Garden Festival!
Although it seemed as if they did not have as many flower exhibits as they normally do, it was still so fun to see the beautiful flowers around the park!
Although we were hesitant about returning to Walt Disney World shortly after their reopening, I’m so glad we decided to go! This was a great opportunity to ride more rides than usual and enjoy the park being a little less crowded!
Disney was very persistent about wearing masks and definitely wanted to make sure everyone was safe and healthy! It was definitely worth going to the parks, even with all the changes and differences because of COVID-19.
It was an amazing couple days back at the happiest place on earth!
To see more of my Disney experience, watch my vlog down below!
x. V