Dystopian Disney Magic and Dystopian Domestic Airline Travel During a Pandemic – My Experience

When it comes to bucket list items most of our lists list adventurous items like jumping out of an airplane, seeing the pyramids of Egypt, walking the Great Wall of China, or visiting the Galapagos Islands. Most folks if asked would not expect surviving a pandemic to be on that list. Yet it is 2020 and for many of us that is the case. This year economies have been shuttered, cities shut down, and social distancing is becoming as comomonplace as social networking a decade earlier. I just ask that you be mindful of social distancing around me, for if you are not six feet part, you and I may be six feet under. It definitely has been a trying year. This year one of my bucket list items was going to be witness the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Unfortunately, Covid-19 came into the picture and as someone said on the quarantine chat smartphone app, little did we know our bucket list would include surviving a pandemic.

In addition to Spain, I am an alumni of the Disney College Program and always love revisiting friends and my old work area of the Tower of Terror/Sunset Boulevard at Disney’s Hollwood Studios (previously named Disney-MGM Studios when I worked there). My other trip was to fly my niece to Florida and immediately upon arrival from Spain take her to Walt Disney World as a high school graduation and birthday gift. The trips were booked in late January. I would be visiting Spain from July1st and fly back on the 9th meeting my niece immediately in Orlando and staying at Disney’s All Star Movies Resort.  

At the time, the newscasts reported a new virus impacting China and its citizens that would forever impact the world. I thought it would be similar to SARS years earlier in that it would wreck havoc on China and other countries, but not the United States. While China was in a dire situation, other than praying for their citizens, I continued living my life. By mid March it became apparent that life as we know it was about to take a turn for the worse as Covid-19 cases became prevalent in the United States and a massive shutdown took effect across the United States shutting down commerce and making huge U.S. cities ghost towns overnight. Walt Disney World ceased operations on March 14th with initial hopes of reopening in April, then May, and then issuing statement that the parks will be closed until further notice.

During the uncertainty, I continued to make trip payments with the mindset that this will be over. I counted down the days to the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain and was looking forward to sharing my stories of working at the Happiest Place on Earth with my niece. I refused to give up hope and continued to make payments on these trips.

In late April, Spain cancelled the San Fermin festival. Our tour company was not doing well financially and offered guests that did not cancel a rollover to attend in 2021, 2022, or 2023. Meanwhile Disney was mum and sixty days before leaving I proceeded to make fast pass ride choices for our trip.

Finally, in early June Disney’s plan to safely reopen the parks were approved with an opening date of July 11th for Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom and July 15th for Hollywood Studios and Epcot. It was exciting news but it meant we would not have three full days in the park that we planned for and she would not get to see where I worked during my time on the Disney College Program.

Next, we find out that all fast pass plus reservations and dining packages were canceled as the parks went to a new reservation system. I still continued to pay for my trip with the last payment due June 1st. They left all reservations on the books in place but you could not modify them. All you could do for a short time was cancel what was on the books.In the meantime a ton of hotels remained shuttered including mine and once the reopening date announcement got close, cases started spiking in the state.

It was a tumultuous period, dining reservations made six months out and attraction reservations made sixty days out were erased and my hotel was not in the phased reopening. Further, my dining plan was canceled and there was no guarantee I would be able to get in theme parks since you had to make an advanced reservation via a calendar system which let you know if your dates were available. Eventually, Disney had dates set aside for hotel guests first to book their park dates and then allowed guests with Disney resort hotel stays to book dining reservations first. The most fascinating component of what will play out was that attendance would be heavily reduced with portable sinks and hand sanitizer stations added to multiple locations across the theme parks. Most importantly social distancing labels will be placed in queues for parties to stand on to maintain distancing. Character hugs and high fives will not be happening and parades, fireworks, and nighttime experiences are all canceled.

Having been a former Disney employee and a fan of the hospitality industry, I was curious as to how one of the top experts in crowd management, hospitality, and attention to detail will be able to operate while maintaining a magical guest experience. The following piece is my insight on how Disney is doing during the Coronavirus pandemic. Please note this experience is based on my stay at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and will in detail cover my thoughts on how Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom are doing in the wake of this pandemic. Do note that things probably or will continually change based on experiences gained during this unprecedented time and so these observations are based on my stay from July 9 through July 13 and drawing heavily from my visits to Disney’s Animal Kingdom on July 11 and the Magic Kingdom on July 12. Disney is doing magic in new and innovative ways and things probably will constantly change or adapt based on the experiences gained over the reopening period. My observations are based on the opening weekend experiences I had in the park.  

Airline Travel During Covid-19 to Orlando

Before that let me spend a moment on airline travel. For the first time in years, I can not travel internationally and that has been an adjustment. It is especially frustrating when the only international trip I can do is a trip to the International House of Pancakes which is far from pleasant and not exactly “rooty, tooty, fresh, and fruity” like their famous breakfast signature item. The end result is only being able to travel domestically and I have mixed opinions of flying now in the midst of Covid-19.

When I arrived at the TSA screening area of the airport I always tell my folks that TSA does not stand for Transportation Security Administration but instead means “touching sensitive areas.” When preparing for my trip I saw Orlando’s airport was doing temperature checks so

I thought I would undergo one while posing like an Egyptian pyramid in the scanning tube. Alas that did not happen. What was interesting was how the TSA was suited up.

TSA security had their face and mouth covered in a cloth mask and then layered on top of that was a face shield covering. I thought I walked into a welding demonstration and was about to see sparks fly. There was no welding, but there was your standard frisking which might cause sparks to fly between the other passengers at the TSA. Alas, TSA still stands for touching sensitive areas.

Clearing security the Little Rock terminal almost had every shop, restaurant, and facility closed with the exception of a Chili’s on the far end and a Hudson Hawk towards the back of the terminal. This was at two p.m. on a Thursday afternoon. There were other individuals traveling but it was nowhere crowded like previous departures to other destinations.

I flew Southwest Airlines from Little Rock to Dallas and stayed on continuing to Orlando. Upon entering the plane things were different. Southwest is still practicing social distancing and so all middle seats were empty. Southwest plans to continue leaving middle seats vacant through the end of July. We also had to wear our mask the entire time we were not eating or drinking. Finally, we did not have a selection of alcohol we could purchase nor soft drinks to choose from. Instead the crew provided a bag of snack mix and a cup of ice cold water.This was to minimize social contact and interaction with passnegers due to the pandemic.

Once we arrived in Dallas, and the Dallas passengers deplaned, I noticed the first key difference in air travel post Covid-19. Past protocol would have passengers whose final destination or had a connecting flight in Dallas exit and then the crew would clear out trash and do a quick wipe down before the Dallas passengers started boarding the plane usually within 10 minutes Now after deplaning, the cleaning crew comes in, does a thorough wipe down and scrubs down the entire sides, seat backs, tray tables, and does a thorough wipe down of all areas in detail. The process took a half hour before the Dallas passengers entered for the nxt leg to Orlando. I was impressed and wished they had been doing this since the very beginning of air travel and hope multi-leg journeys will not scale back to a quick turn around process again.

We arrived in Orlando and Disney’s Magical Express complimentary motorcoach took us to Fort Wilderness where we stayed in a cabin that had a bunk bed, queen bed, stocked kitchen, entertainment area, and safe. We had made it to our room and now were ready for a long weekend. On Friday we went to Volcano Bay at Universal Orlando Resort. While I will write more about Universal Orlando Volcano Bay in a separate post, the arrival experience definitely was shockingly different and had me wondering what Disney had in store. Universal Orlando’s walkway to the main point of entry had me curious as to what Disney had in store as it was quite eerie. We headed down into a parking deck where we did not see anyone else until finally approaching a moving walkway that took us to the temperature and security entry point. As we got on the walk way it felt bizarre. The normal laughter, smiles, and jovial chatter was a void of quiet faces covered in masks with no sign of vibrant energy.

As we headed to our tropical getaway, what normally would elicit feelings of happiness and excitement instead felt like a post apocalyptic dystopian thriller of lifeless bodies covered in masks, with slouched body language, hearing a repeating Orwellian type big brother voice over speakers saying to wash your hands often, maintain social distancing and if your temperature is above 100.4 degrees you cannot enter the resort.

It felt like a world of surveillance in the name of public health and in order to get to paradise, you were subjected to blaring demands about keeping personal space, washing hands, and if you have a fever, you and your party will be denied entry. With this greeting us prior to entering a tropical themed island water park, I was sort of worried what awaited us at Disney the next day.

Disney Dystopia

Eventually our day at Volcano Bay ended and we proceeded to have a nice Italian dinner with friends at City Walk. It was a beautiful day and got a ride back to our cabin. Tomorrow will be the day we had been waiting for. Disney magic will be returning to the United States with the opening of the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom after a four month absence.

Disney has a people management and logistical operation that is a sight to behold. They manage to keep individuals on property by providing a free motorcoach to the resort. Once you are there Disney has boats and buses that will take you to every park, resort, or activity on Disney grounds to enjoy everything they have to offer without ever having to worry about individuals leaving property.

On Saturday July 11th, we attended Disney’s animal kingdom and the only complimentary resort transportation to get there was via Disney’s bus fleet. The bus service within the resort is the closest simulation to hell on this planet as it is not like the motor coach that whisked us off from the airport to our resort cabin.

There is no wide seating, individual air conditioning fans, and seat reclining options with monitors playing cartoons. Instead the Disney bus line was the very first place in the English lexicon where the phrase packed like sardines was uttered when a tourist witnessd an utter meltdown on a overpacked bus after fourth of July fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. Disney’s transit line is known to pack as many strollers, children, electric vehicles, and guests, shoulder to shoulder on top of each other where you do not even have an inch of space to yourself. Now imagine having a child meltdown during the ride and you have hell on earth.

Due to social distancing requirements the bus trips are more pleasant and enjoyable. The bus driver said maximum capacity is around 25 people and standing is forbidden. All hand strap cords are zip tied and certain seats are marked unavailable to maintain social distancing. Finally, the bus added some dividers to separate unrelated guests for safety reasons.

Our first bus trip was to Disney’s Animal Kingdom where me, my niece, and the bus driver were the only ones on the bus. It was a surreal moment and the most relaxing Disney World resort bus line trip I had ever taken. It was as though Covid-19, wiped out the entire world’s population and we would be the only ones witnessing dystopian Disney magic in a post pandemic world. For the first time ever, I could truly relax and breathe without feeling cramped and it took a respiratory virus to have a relaxing bus ride for the first time ever. The irony was not lost because when the buses are packed to the gills you feel like you cannot breathe and now a pandemic has resulted in a lot more personal space on the bus giving you plenty of comfort and room to breathe. The following screenshot is of our virtually empty bus to Animal Kingdom.

For those driving to the theme parks directly, parking tram shuttles are not operating due to Covid-19. This is still I believe to be the case because of the pandemic and social distancing. Be aware that you will have to walk to the main entrance gate, but with controlled attendance it should not be an issue.

We made it to Animal Kingdom and upon entry, had to proceed through one of several big white tents where Advent Health staff smiled and did contactless temperature checks. Much like Universal, we stood still for one moment as they took our temperature and proceeded to security. Security is now streamlined as you no longer have to empty bags. You just go through a scanner and are most likely cleared. When searches were carried out they were done non-intrusively. Unfortunately, Magic Kingdom required us to empty out our pockets, bags, phones, and other items that could cause the device to register a problem. My guess is the screening methods differed between the parks most likely because Animal Kingdom was testing out a less intrusive screening method since it gets less visitors than the Magic Kingdom. That way if there are any problems, they can be corrected before rolling out a uniform system across all parks. This is all speculation but that is probably what is happening.

Once through security, we entered the turn style access point. In the past to enter your park ticket was read and your index fingers were inputted into a machine that would record an algorithm exclusively linking that ticket to that ticket holder. Due to Covid, you need to have your park ticket linked in advance to the theme park you are accessing for that specific date. If you are a resort guest, that entails scanning the magic band which allows entry into the park. (Note: if you have a PIN number linked for security and resort purchases, that pin is not required when scanning the magic band at park entry.) A negative of this is if you lose your band someone might acquire it and sneak in since finger scans are not being done.

I lost my Magic Band early Sunday morning before the Magic Kingdom opened. I went to the front desk, got it deactivated, and had a replacement made which had my Magic Kingdom ticket information stored in it. The chances of someone finding a lost band and sneaking into the park, while feasible, is probably slim to none because anyone who goes to the parks has to have already purchased their ticket in advance and committed to a specific park on a specific day. Still it is better to be safe than sorry and to replace it due to finger scans being discontinued.

Once we entered Animal Kingdom, the park was dead. It seemed like there were no more than 50 people total around us. As we made our way walking further into the park, towering out of nowhere came the tree of life. It was the ultimate irony as the park was dead and then we come directly into the majestic and beautiful tree of life. It was the best visit ever for photography as you had a virtually dead park with no bottlenecks. You did not have to also worry about being run down by an electric cart or a tourist slamming into you due to taking countless photos while walking and not paying attention. It was awesome to have so much space and move freely. Despite it seeming empty there were others in the park.

The majority of cast members wore face masks and face shields. This combination made me think I was at a violent demonstration and the cast members were hiding tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse guests at any moment. Their multi-face coverings were going to take time to get used to in this new environment we live in.

Attractions and Queues

We started our day at the tree of life and took in our first theater attraction of the weekend It’s tough to be a Bug. There were maybe four other people in the same showing besides us at around 8:45A.M. Every sixt feet in the queue there were markers on the floor that told guests to stay there to maintain social distancing.

The theaters had every other row closed and the rows that were open had multiple seats marked off. The maximum number of seats together open in any set row were four. Cast members announced that parties bigger than four would need to figure out how they would want to separate in the theater. In the show waiting area, cast members directed everyone to a giant circle where we stood in place until the theater doors opened. Once open, we went into any open row we wanted and at the conclusion of the show, we exited normally being asked to maintain social distancing.

This show utilized 3D glasses, which cast members handed to one member of each party. In the past, guests used to pick them up themselves. At the end of the show you disposed of them in a container with the assumption they will be thoroughly sanitized. Gone for now are the days of being cramped in the lobby before the show and being yelled at to fill all available seats. It was nice but scary.

Ride wise, we started the day with Kali River Rapids. This is a circular rapids ride where you explore the Asian jungle only to then witness the evils of deforestation. There was no wait and on this line and others where there were switchbacks, plexiglass dividers were put in above the railings. Excess water effects appeared to be disabled, but you still got slightly wet after going over the mild drop on the ride.

This ride brought to reality how dead the park was when the ride attendant asked us if we wanted to stay on and ride again. We said yes without hesitation. Never in the history of Disney have I ever had this happen nor do I think it will ever happen again.

The most crucial element to the Disney experience besides its theming, storytelling and shows are the characters. People of all ages love to fist bump, hug and interact with Disney characters. Disney had had to reinvent character interactions during the pandemic. The observations witnessed here are based again on the first weekend of July 11 and 12th and are just reflective of Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom park. Chances are these will adapt and be modified based on feedback from guests.

Our first character interaction happened walking over a bridge from Asia to Dinoland when we heard on the Discovery River Steppenwolf’s Bad to the Bone blaring over loud speakers. We looked over and saw Goofy and friends waving up at us from their own watercraft. They were literally sent up the river. At first I thought they were punished by the Disney Mafia as being sent up a river never ends well, but when I saw their happy waves and smiles towards me, my niece, and others learned that was not the case. One young boy I estimated to be six years of age screamed in joy upon seeing Goofy and ran to the very edge of the bridge. If not for the high barrier, he would have probably had jumped in and joined them. He leaned over looking down only to see his friends floating past and disappearing into the distance never to be seen again until later that day. That interaction was the equivalent of torture as we were being teased by Disney characters waving hello but at the same time saying we can’t stay and vanished into the vast unknown. The floating and disappearing felt analogous to the money one spends in the park. You spend a lot to enjoy the park and have an immersive themed experience only to see your finances vanish off into Disney’s coffers never to be seen again.

Characters were not the only thing roaming the river. Normally the islands of Animal Kingdom are jamming with entertainment whether that be steel drums, native African singers, or other forms of entertainment themed to that park’s specific section. A popular music entertainment group are the Discovery Island drummers who usually perform on land before a crowd that stops to gather as they bang tropical rhythms around the park. Due to Covid-19 their act has been redefined and their steel drum rhythms and snappy melodies can be heard coming off the waters of the Discovery River as they float up and down the river at various times throughout the day. I honestly feel this has improved this entertainment offering and would love for them to perform permanently on the river as it worked and provided atmosphere to a part of the park that is now not being used otherwise. It adds a pop up party atmosphere and it really fits with that style of music. I wish Disney would truly consider that.

We proceeded to Dinoland in search of breakfast. Dinoland is a carnival themed land with a midway, games, and rides themed to extinct dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are not the only element extinct in this land as once we entered the carnival atmosphere vibrant party music of Walking On Sunshine played over the loud speakers. This added a vibrant feel to the festivities and made you want to dance. In normal times, this area of the park has a dance party with Donald Duck but due to Covid-19 that has gone extinct. As a matter of fact I would argue that it is more of the humans who are going extinct in this land than the dinosaurs because when reviewing ride vehicles, drawings, and theme there were more dinosaurs than park guests in the entire land. That was the ultimate irony that an extinct creature was more prevalent than us human beings. I was looking for a tumbleweed to randomly sweep on down the road as we took in the lack of atmosphere.

Experiencing Rides in the Parks

There were interesting elements to note when riding the various rides in Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom over the course of opening weekend. On Everest, between parties they had three empty car rows. This themed to be standard operating procedure among all coasters. Additionally, at the top of the hour, the ride stops for a short while for a thorough disinfecting of the cars before ride operations resume again.  

If you want an on ride photo of your screaming escape from the Abominable Snowman or other ride experiences, the mask must be worn per Disney rules and protocols. If the mask is not worn properly, your photo will be censored and unavailable to your party. Additionally, if they see your mask is drooping or not fully worn according to park guidelines they will politely ask you to fix your mask and tell you how to properly wear it. I witnessed this at least three different times happen to other guests over the weekend. The cast members were not rude and had a professional calm demeanor when addressing individuals not wearing masks or wearing them incorrectly. The following photo is a screenshot taken from an on ride video I shot on Expedition Everest with my Go Pro Camera.

Due to Covid-19 and social distancing, in some instances you may even have a whole ride vehicle to yourself. This is especially true on Avatar’s nav’vi River journey where each boat only has two rows meaning that once one party claims a boat it is theirs as there are not multiple rows allowing for proper spacing. One time on Splash Mountain, we had a whole log to ourselves. tThough if you are a party of two that will probably be very rare as there are enough rows to allow spacing for another small party. On Flight of Passage, the banshee they linked us to was on the far side of the room from the other party who joined us. Most ride entry and exit points had hand sanitizer dispenser areas and three areas in Animal Kingdom had outdoor handwashing stations. Covid-19 may be a killer virus but I started having a feeling that if I caught it it was not going to be from Disney but from other guests who may unknowingly have it and did not practice proper hygiene and/or mask wearing.

Attractions that had switchback queues normally with just railing dividing them now had full plexiglass dividers to protect guests from people on the other side due to lack of social distancing in those situations. The Safari attraction had a vinyl divider between each row. There were no rows skipped but instead of five to six people in a single row, each row only took a party, so instead of me and my niece having to share a row with five or six others we had a whole row to ourselves. If you were by yourself, you had that row to yourself. The image that follows is of the plexiglass dividers seen in the switchback queue of the Avatar boat ride in the World of Pandora.

Ride disinfecting appeared to be done at the top of every hour as previously mentioned with the one exception being the safari that appeared to do a thorough wipe down of each vehicle after guests exited the departure area. My understanding now is the vinyl dividers on safari vehicles have recently been replaced with plexiglass and safari guests have the option to remove their masks.

Throughout the park at key ride entrances and exits you will find hand sanitizer locations and there were three places in Animal Kingdom where I saw outdoor handwashing stations. Animal Kingdom has an interactive wilderness explorer scout type activities where they can get merit type badges. I think one of these should be a covid killer badge. That would be attained when you wash your hands in one of the outside in public sinks found in the park. I would be on my way to mass achievement.

Additionally if that was not enough, every 15 minutes it appeared Disney had their own big brother announcement in English that stressed that all guests should wash their hands frequently, social distance properly, and if sneezing or coughing, make sure to do so into an elbow. I am pretty certain I was more likely to die of tripping on an uneven surface and have my skull crack open than I would dying of Covid-19. That is how safe I felt in the parks.

The most important thing right now to be aware of is pre-show experiences that are detrimental to the quintessential Disney experience are not happening on some attractions. At Animal Kingdom this is a plus for on Dinosaur you do not have to sit through the Dinosaur pre-show with Phylicia Rashad and goofy pre-show videos. That pre-show really adds nothing to the ride unless you have never rode it before which might cause a moment of storyline confusion initially.

One of the most popular Disney attractions Flight of Passage has its pre-show significantly modified for the better Two years ago I waited a total of close to four hours to ride on a Banshee. It seemed like a half hour of that was pre-show sleight of hand where they were scanning your body while you twisted, shouted, shaked, waved, and twisted your body for them to get data to help link you to a banshee. After being stuck already three hours in line it was the most nauseating, nuissance driven, drawn out pre-show experience I have ever seen and made no sense. With Covid-19 that pre-show portion is nixed and you only see the short four minute video with the Avatar actors explaining how you will be linked to a banshee and what to expect during the experiment. It gives the story, is a proper length, and best of all you don’t feel the need to punch an imagineer. I personally hope they keep that first half of this pre-show off permanently as it does nothing to the experience. The part they have maintained helps set the stage and gives the proper backstory especially since the attraction is still less than five years old.  

The most important thing to know about Animal Kingdom is that if you like Disney actor/theatrical live stage productions, those are not running currently at any of the theme parks. The result is shows like Up! A great bird adventure (modified as a different show about feathered friends), Finding Nemo, and The Lion King with its amazing acrobatics and stage sets are not operating at the moment. These are live show elements that are critical to Animal Kingdom and with nighttime spectaculars, parades, and fireworks, not happening the park is noticeably missing the colorful performing arts stage shows that are among the most popular at Walt Disney World. The Actor’s Equity union is in a dispute with Disney over Covid-19 testing and wants to wear face masks. Disney has not agreed to those terms. The result is shows that rely on live actors are not operating. For guests who love live actors and pageantry this is a major blow but it is understandable that the union wants a safe environment to perform in. Let’s hope they come to an agreement soon as Nemo and Lion King specifically are must see shows and I cannot see them staying closed indefinitely.

One attraction I did that cast member friends of mine told me they never have luck getting into is a thirty minute animation class at Conservation Station. This class features a workshop with an animator who teaches you how to draw a popular Disney character. In our 30 minute class session, we drew

Simba. It was an amazing class and the best part is you get to keep the animated artwork you created and in my opinion mine did not turn out too bad. Judge for yourself!

This attraction had the most unique seating and departing procedures. Each party was asked to wait separately and then waited for a cast member to seat them in assigned seats. Once our class ended, we were not able to leave at once, but instead had to wait for a cast member to clear each party individually so we can safely exit while maintaining social distancing. This was not seen in any 3D or animatronic stage shows but gives you an idea of how serious Disney is taking health and safety. While our show did not have a full house almost all of the seats were filled and apparently when parks are at capacity it is hard to secure an animation session.

Thoughts on The Tragic, I mean Magic Kingdom

Sunday it was time to visit the most visited theme park in the world the Magic Kingdom. After taking in Animal Kingdom I was curious to see if the character appearances here would be considerably better and how they would be imagined. The nice thing about staying at Fort Wilderness cabins is you have the option of taking the bus to the Magic Kingdom or going via boat transportation.

The day started out rough as I wanted to take the boat to the Magic Kingdom. We took the bus stop in our neighborhood loop down to the trading post when we were informed that boats were not operating and we would have to take a Disney transit bus to the park. We walked to the pick up point and there were 22 individuals ahead of us. Since this bus had a lot more passengers, the driver went to each party and asked how many were in their party. He then set each group to the side, looked at the bus configuration and sat each party a certain way while accounting for social distancing.

If there was not a pandemic, there would be a free for all with everyone filling in every square inch with no social distancing. He worked through the first 22 people and we were the last two in line. After asking us to hold up momentarily, he came back and informed us that we would need to wait for the next bus. A moment later, a transportation cast member approached us and said since the boats were not running that he will give us a personal ride in his work transportation van. We had immediate guest service recovery and I was grateful because we were not sharing a bus and had our own chauffeur.

He was awesome and understood the importance of spending every hour in the flagship park. Thanks to him we got through temperature check, security, and walked into Main Street USA minutes before the official 9AM park opening. It was the first time ever I actually made it into a park right at opening.

Walking under the bridge into the turn of the century we took in Main Street USA modeled after Walt Disney’s childhood town of Marcelline, Missouri. Upon entering Main Street we saw our first Magic Kingdom character interaction at the train station. I did not find this to be an improvement over Animal Kingdom’s character interactions. In this situation, they were a few feet above the crowd at the railroad station waving down at us. I felt like they were doing a childlike taunt saying “na na na na you can’t hug us!” It was once again cruel and unusual punishment. However, as the day went on character interactions were much improved. For instance on the Tomorrowland stage Buzz Lightyear showed up on stage at such an angle where one could easily take their phone and make it look like Buzz was posing alongside the guests. This was a huge improvement over Animal Kingdom’s approach of having characters appear on a boat only to sail off up river into the vast unknown.

The other character experiences were random appearances throughout the park and included character cavalcades going down the normal parade rate but with one solo float with select characters at random times throughout the day. Each time this happened the characters were joined by an entourage of dancers waving, dancing, and acknowledging park guests. Overall Magic Kingdom had a much better approach for character interactions.

Finally, the Main Street Philharmonic marching band performed Disney classic tunes marching the parade route at random times throughout the day. While I do miss the intimate up close performances their presence added a bit of magic to the day.

We rode virtually everything we wanted to in this park. The only things closed were Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor due to the Union issue and the classic People Mover. We rode all attractions that were open except Dumbo, Aladdin Carpets, Swiss Family Treehouse, The Huge Riverboat, and Tom Sawyer Island. The longest wait we had was 20 minutes for the seven dwarfs mine train which regularly has 2.5 hour waits when the park attendance is not capped.

Much like Animal Kingdom there was plenty of room for social distancing. I was disappointed however that our former and current US president did not lead by example as they did not wear face masks nor social distanced when addressing the guests at the hall of presidents. This is sending the wrong message during a mass pandemic.

Finally, one ride impacted due to Covid-19 is the Haunted Mansion. The 50 plus year old staple of Disney parks has its pre-show not operating with the famous elevator photo stretching scene and body dangling via noose from the vaulted ceiling. As someone who brought a first timer to the park, this was a disappointment but Disney had been upfront about how this experience will be different during the pandemic. However, I was disappointed to see that the best integrated ride pre-show is nixed due to Covid-19 and for now is part of the walk through queue until things get back to normal. For the record when walking through the elevator room, the pictures are fully stretched out if you want to take a quick glance.

Is it safe?

If I had my own family would I be comfortable with them visiting the parks? I would say unequivocally yes. While you cannot control the actions of other guests on property, Disney is very strict in enforcing the mask, attendance, and distancing rules to where I would be comfortable even having my elderly parents visit the park. At one point while lining up to ride the rocket jets in Tomorrowland, I stepped forward an inch or two only to have the cast member politely tell me to back up for social distancing purposes. While there is no guarantee you won’t catch Covid-19 I feel the only way it will happen is due to the stupidity of other guests who did not have a fever but were not well in other ways health wise and went into the park exposing others.

While Magic Kingdom had more people, the parks were substantially less crowded than in the past decade and the longest wait I experienced was the seven dwarves mine train at 20 minutes.

We continued to be heavily spaced out in the queues, plexiglass partitions are in place, and cast members constantly would remind guests the proper way to wear masks. As I left the park I bought a soda and as I exited, took a quick sip pulling the mask down and then back up immediately. Almost a week later, Disney revised its mask guidelines in regards to eating and drinking. Their new rule is you must be actively stationary and properly social distanced while eating or drinking. It appears that when Epcot’s food and wine festival debuted lots of individuals would keep the mask off and be eating/drinking while roaming through the park. Neither me nor my niece abused this during the normal operating hours but rather when the park closed I bought a bottled soda on the way out and took a quick sip only to put the mask back on immediately. Due to others however apparently blatantly bending the rules, Disney clarified them to define what is expected if eating or drinking outside a restaurant or mask relaxation zone.

So my overall verdict. If you are claustrophobic, do not like large crowds, but always dreamed of going to Disney now is the time! Disney has plenty of safeguards in place. While I only visited Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom here are things to expect:

• Masks must be worn at all times – except when at relaxation stations, dining at restaurants, or actively eating or drinking. There are however relaxation stations in the park where you can rest and demask that account for social distancing – take advantage of these. If you feel the urge to go based on the minimal crowds I would recommend wearing a mask outside during the day to get used to how it feels in the heat and humidity of the summer. It is actually easy to adapt to if you prepare in advance.
• Disney is very transparent in what they expect and what you can expect from the experience. They are taking this seriously. It has now been 15 days and we never showed any symptoms of Covid-19 which has an incubation period of up to 14 days. We feel we did not get Covid-19 because of the heavy safeguards and measures Disney has put into place. As mentioned earlier, if I had caught Covid-19 it probably would have been from a guest who should not have been at the park who did not have a fever but had other symptoms.
• Cast members constantly clean areas and hand sanitizer stations and sinks are prominent throughout the park. The teacup ride was one attraction that had prominent hand sanitizer stations as you entered the ride area and as you exited. This is the ride that has the disk you interact with to spin the vehicle really fast. Beyond that the queues have very visible social distancing markers notating where to stand when waiting to ride.
• Character interactions albeit different still exist in a reimagined form - While you will not be able to hug, fist bump or high five your favorite characters they still are present and interact at random times throughout the day. Animal Kingdom characters being sent up river is a bust while the Magic Kingdom’s approach of appearances nearby on stages and in quick cavalcade pop ups on individual floats with a dancing entourage worked out great!
• Pre-shows may be modified or not available causing some attractions like Haunted Mansion to not be the true experience one expects due to the pandemic.
• Parades and nighttime spectaculars are canceled – This can be a deal breaker for a lot of folks.
• Advanced reservations for park entry are required. Gone are the days of showing up one morning to buy your ticket package. Now you must go online using the new Disney Park Pass Reservation System to determine if dates are available and book accordingly. Park entry is only guaranteed if you have the correct ticket and have managed to reserve the park for the date you arrived at the front gate.
• Finger algorithm entry is not being utilized – entry is done via Magic Band Tap for people staying on property. If you drop or lose your magic band prior to all your park visits, deactivate and get a new one immediately out of an abundance of caution. That way if someone finds your band, they won’t randomly attempt to go to a park and try to get in with your band.
• Ride photos will not be available for purchase if you remove your mask during the ride – Disney classifies this as unhealthy behavior and will not publicly release the photo. If your mask is not on according to the guidelines provided on the Disneyworld website and Disney World app, expect a cast member to politely educate you on the proper mask wearing protocol when on Disney property.
• In terms of parks, if character interactions are not a big deal and you can live without parade and nighttime spectaculars, a trip to Magic Kingdom is worth it – I wish they would find a way to get the Haunted Mansion queue set up to allow the pre-show to resume while keeping guests properly socially distanced in the elevator.
• Animal Kingdom due to issues with the actor’s union may not be fully worth it - With Animal Kingdom missing the acrobatics of Lion King and artistry/puppetry of Finding Nemo it is missing its bang for the buck. However, the incredible world of Pandora and its attractions have walk on waits and it sure beats 3.5 hour waits for Flight of Passage and 2.5 hours for Nav’vi River boat ride in pre-covid-19 era.
• There is No Fastpass, but there are no real lines either – you will get to do everything that is open! As mentioned earlier, we were offered to go a second straight time on Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom without having to disembark and walk through the queue again. This will never happen again in my lifetime.   
• Do your part: wear your mask, social distance, and have fun – Regardless of how you feel about the virus, you are on private property and Disney has strict state regulations they must follow. Also, while some folks may not take this pandemic seriously, bear in mind others do and with the information that is out there, be respectful of that! Disney World’s website lists everything you need to know from mask protocol, operating attractions, and the safeguards that are put in place. Disney will even allow reservation modifications or cancellations without a fee between certain dates if you had one in place and are not comfortable. Refer to the Disneyworld.com website or call Disney at 407-W-Disney to get more specific details.

I leave you with this video that summarizes some of the above from our adventures during this dystopic time. Stay safe, healthy, and remain six feet back or you might be six feet under!

Lud Kozlowski is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and an alumni of the Walt Disney World College Program. The views expressed here are his alone and are not representative of any past or present employer. Lud currently works at Centene Corporation as a Senior member Enrollment Benefits Specialist and has been appointed vice chairperson of the Arkansas Governor’s Council for Developmental Disabilities by Governor Asa Hutchinson. He loves traveling, water sports, karaoke, comedy, theater, movies, writing, hospitality, travel, and adventure. In the summer you can find him river floating and going over the rapids in his life jacket at the Ouachita River whitewater park. Lud also advocates for individuals with developmental disabilities, educates and empowers utilizing humor to engage with others. He has a Master's Degree in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication, and runs a monthly support group for professional adults on the autism spectrum.