Though Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and LEGOLAND Florida were all very eager to reopen, Walt Disney World has taken things very slowly, and has been announcing opening procedures and rules in small waves, with new announcements and confirmations coming weekly. In an effort to make things a little simpler for guests panning a trip to Walt Disney World in the coming weeks, we’ve compiled all the new rules and regulations guests will need to abide by.
1. Required masks and temperature checks
The biggest (and thus far most polarizing) change that guests will encounter at Walt Disney World is required mask usage and temperature checks at each park gate. Masks will be required in common areas at hotels and also on Disney transportation as well.
2. Park Reservations will be required
In order to gain entrance to a Walt Disney World theme park, all guests, no matter whether they are staying on-site or somewhere else, will need valid admission tickets as well as an arrival reservation time. And interestingly, Disney has said that they will not be granting special access to resort guests. If a guest does not have a reservation window to go with their tickets, they simply won’t be able to visit the theme parks, even if they have a dining reservation.
3. Restriction on movement between parks
Travel agents have recently been advised that park hopping will be restricted for all confirmed tickets through 2020, and guests should try and reserve their parks as early as possible to ensure they are able to plan their vacation effectively.
It has also been confirmed that the popular Minnie Van service will not be available once the parks reopen, along with valet service at resorts. And while bus transportation will be available between resorts and theme parks (as well as Disney Springs), guests may find wait times a little bit longer than usual, as buses will have strict capacity limits and distancing rules inside the vehicles will apply.
4. No FastPass+ advance planning will be available
Disney has made the unprecedented step of completely shutting down the FastPass+ service for the foreseeable future and will be using the additional queue space to manage capacity at attractions and maintain physical distancing. Disney has said that they will automatically cancel existing FastPass+ selections and guests will instead be directed to use the new virtual queueing system that will be used for many attractions. All current FastPass+ reservations have already been cancelled, and the FastPass+ section of My Disney Experience has been completely removed.
5. Extra Magic Hours have been cancelled indefinitely
In addition to cancelling FastPass+ indefinitely, Disney has announced that Extra Magic Hours will also be temporarily suspended when the theme parks reopen, and will not be available indefinitely.
6. Entertainment will be curtailed in a big way
Because of social distancing best practices, Disney has announced that all fireworks shows, character meet and greets, and parades (including the nightly Electrical Water Parade) have been suspended until further notice.
7. Housekeeping will be changing
As you might expect, housekeeping at Walt Disney World resort will be a lot different when the resort reopens in July. Rooms will be deep cleaned in between guests, with housekeepers focusing on sanitizing high-touch areas. In addition, daily housekeeping will be discontinued, with rooms only available for cleaning every other day.
8. Contactless payments will be preferred for dining
A key component of Walt Disney World’s reopening procedures is the increase in contactless experiences for guests, which will extend to dining, with Mobile Ordering becoming the preferred way to get quick service meals and contactless payments such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, or the use of Magic Bands used in all locations, including table service locations.
9. Annual Passholders may have a difficult time entering the theme parks
Though technically all guests will be allowed to access park reservations with a valid admission ticket or annual pass, but the number of total bookings held by Annual Passholders will be extremely limited. In addition, Disney has acknowledged that it may be “difficult” for Annual Passholders to get park reservations to visit on certain dates.
10. Special Cast Members will be roaming the theme parks enforcing social distancing
Disney has announced the formation of a “Social Distance squad” that will be roaming the park to remind guests to stay apart from one another. We have already seen this group in action at Disney Springs and they will continue to direct guests once the theme parks reopen.
11. There will only be one character dining experience on property
Disney has said previously that all character interactions have been suspended until further notice, which unfortunately includes character dining experiences like those at Cinderella’s Royal Table and Crystal Palace. However Disney has clarified this point somewhat saying that while Character Dining will still not be offered during the initial reopening there will be a “modified Character Dining experience” available at Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera, and more information will be released soon.
