Rescheduled Magic! Our Family’s Trip to Visit Disney in the Time of COVID!
Our family was really looking forward to our July trip to Disney World. Our twins were turning 8 and we were surprising Judah and Selah with a very special trip with a split stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge (in a Savannah view room) and at Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Unfortunately, COVID-19, dashed those plans with the announcements that the parks would not be open during our original dates. We were able to push our trip to new dates, but with our hotels not yet available, we knew we had to make alternative plans. After much discussion, we decided that instead of waiting for the resorts to open, and further postpone our trip, we would switch gears, and still go to Disney, but stay at a Disney Springs Resort Area Hotel.
As the trip approached, we stock-piled masks and hand sanitizer. We also anxiously anticipated what the trip might be like. What were the COVID risks? Would wearing face masks make it miserable? Would the heat be too much? Would the Magic still be there? We had a lot of questions. We read everything we could, and we watched all of the Shanghai Disney opening videos. We could tell it would be different but knew that only so much can be gleaned from You Tube!
Finally, it was time to travel and we were giddy with anticipation! Our first stop was of course the Magic Kingdom! Although we had entered the parks numerous times, this time was amazingly different. It was very much evident that Disney had safety, security, and sanitation as top of mind. As we approached the health screening area, they took our temperature (with a digital temperature scanner) to make sure we were under 100 degrees. Then instead of going through our bags with their hands, we were directed through a metal detector. The entire process took less than 2 minutes. We were clear to get the magic started!
You should have seen our smiles as we approached Main Street. I am surprised my mask wasn’t covered in my tears as I felt my eyes water. We could see Cinderella’s Castle at the end of Main Street shining with her beautiful new pink and blue paint job. As we walked toward the castle, we kept glancing side by side to see all the masked cast members waiving at us happily. Disney always say’s “welcome home” to their guests, and at that moment, no other words would have sufficed.
Our day at Magic Kingdom was beyond magical! We were blown away by Disney’s surprise Character Cavalcades and pop up celebrations! At Epcot, even though many restaurants were closed, we stuffed ourselves with food from the Epcot Food and Wine Festival which opened early this year. Hollywood Studios was beyond thrilling! We were able to score a spot on Rise of the Resistance, experience Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and explore Toy Story Land. At Animal Kingdom, we took advantage of low ride times to take MULTIPLE Banshee rides on Flight of Passage, but also got to slow our pace down to fully experience the park.
One question that we keep getting asked, well was it HOT?! Well, yes! Disney is always HOT in the summer, but we were pleasantly surprised that “mask-hot” and “crowded-hot” are too different things. Our kids don’t do great in crowds but have been great mask wearers. Because there were no crowds, the kids impressed us by wearing the masks with ZERO complaints the entire time! Even Judah, who has developmental delays, was not phased at all! It was just a normal part of our Disney wardrobe. I feel that most mid-pandemic park-goers would agree that you sort of forget about the inconvenience of the masks once you’re inside the parks.
All in all, our time at Disney was unique and wonderful. The parks were NOT crowded at all, meaning we had the chance to ride most attractions with little or no wait. For rides that did have a little wait, the physical distancing markings on the ground and well positioned plexiglass barriers kept guests from getting too close to each other. Rides, railings, tables and even trash cans were constantly being sanitized and wiped down. All Cast Members wore both masks and face shields and made sure guests were compliant with Disney’s mask and physical distancing requirements.
We found magic at every turn, from smiling cast members to those silly impromptu pop-up experiences in each of the parks! This trip (minus the heat) has been one of our favorites. And since we are Disney fanatics, that is saying A LOT! While I know it won’t last forever, it seems like this season has birthed a new appreciation and fresh joy for being able to get out and enjoy one another and we are grateful to have had the unique experience of visiting Walt Disney World in the midst of COVID 19.
Blog by: Cami Mitchell, Wishes Concierge Specialist
