Things are ramping up at Walt Disney World. As the park is preparing for its 50th anniversary later this year, more signs of life are returning around the resort. With the modified return of a beloved show, Festival of the Lion King, plus major updates to social distancing and mask guidance. Plus, there’s the potential return of nighttime spectaculars (we’re keeping our fingers crossed!) in the hopefully not-so-distant future. There’s a lot to cover today, so let’s get the show on the road!
A More Normal Sort of Magic
While the park experience has been different than ever before, the magic is still very much at Walt Disney World. We love seeing characters interact with visitors via pop-up locations and cavalcades, experiencing our favorite attractions over and over again, and seeing shows like Festival of the Lion King and the Electrical Water Pageant return (and maybe fireworks soon, too? More on that below!). We also have the resort’s big 50th anniversary to look forward to later this year!
With the rate of vaccinated individuals going up, and the total of cases going down in the U.S., things are slowly starting to go back to normal. At Walt Disney World, with no more temperature checks, park capacity increasing, physical distancing measures gradually being reduced, and masks no longer required while outdoors, the current Disney World experience is constantly evolving.
As Bob Chapek noted in the recent shareholder call, park capacity at WDW had already increased over the last few months and is increasing again. As the parks get busier, how will attraction wait times be affected? Thrill Data on Twitter shared a week-to-week 2021 run down on standby times across all four parks. While EPCOT saw no change, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom all had slight increases in wait times over the last few weeks.
Each week at #DisneyWorld in 2021. Wait times were up slightly last week at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and the Magic Kingdom. EPCOT was flat. Next few weeks should be interesting as capacity increases and summer begins. pic.twitter.com/OokZilpHNR
— Thrill Data (@ThrillData) May 17, 2021
As the typically busy summer approaches, we can’t help but wonder if or when FastPass+ will return to alleviate some of the longer lines. However, FastPasses can potentially cause a very long standby line for guests who couldn’t snag a FastPass, or who already used their first three selections for other rides. Do you think FastPass+ is needed for the WDW experience? Should it be reworked in the future?
And, with more guests visiting the parks, we sure hope to see more Cast Members return to work, along with more shops and dining locations reopen soon. In-park table service dining locations rarely have walk-up availability, and quick service locales are overrun with long Mobile Order pick-up queues and table-hunting headaches. With both Casey’s Corner and Columbia Harbour House out of commission, lunching hours at Magic Kingdom have already been especially difficult – even with lower capacity.
The King Has Returned!
After a long hiatus, Festival of the Lion King returned to Disney’s Animal Kingdom on May 15th. While this is one of Disney’s longest-running theme park shows, A Celebration Of Festival of the Lion King is a modified version of the full show to accommodate the current environment. That means capacity is limited, guests are seated socially-distanced, some acts have been altered, and the beloved Tumble Monkeys gymnastics act isn’t possible for this version of the show.
While FastPass is still out of commission at WDW, combined with the pent-up demand and limited capacity for each show, be prepared to wait a bit to see Simba and friends! While visiting on a Thursday, the standby line for the next two showings was backed up along the walkway to Pandora:
Despite the temporary modifications, this is an exciting return of one of WDW’s most popular shows. Even more life has been breathed back into Disney’s Animal Kingdom!
Fireworks, Episode II: The Return of EPCOT Forever?
While one of our team members was at the Grand Floridian a few nights ago, fireworks could be heard coming from EPCOT. Additionally, guests staying at nearby EPCOT resorts could hear EPCOT Forever’s music playing from the park.
Since the new nighttime spectacular Harmonious isn’t quite ready yet, it looks like EPCOT Forever is gearing up for a temporary return to the World Showcase lagoon. There have even been reports of the kites pulled by jet skis being tested.
Disney has yet to announce the return of nighttime spectacular shows, but with the current situation continuing to improve, and continued relaxed restrictions, summer seems very likely for fireworks to return to WDW.
We can’t wait! We haven’t enjoyed a complete proper park day without them!
A Day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
We also took a trip to Hollywood Studios and spotted some changes as we begin the transition to less restrictive guidelines. From no temperature checks or masks outdoors to distancing changes in rides and shows, here’s a recap of what we saw.
At the entrance of the park is a reminder of where masks are required. Masks are currently required once you enter a queue until you exit and anytime you are indoors, unless eating or drinking at a restaurant.
On Rise of the Resistance, all barriers and designated standing spots were removed from the preshow. Cast Members requested guests stand and remain 3 feet apart from each other.
This was also the case at the entrance and inside the transporter.
Over at For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, we observed some new changes for distancing as well. As we walked to our seats, we noticed they still had every other row closed. Cast Members directed guests to keep one seat empty between parties.
As more seats filled in, every row was then opened for seating.
Throughout the show, the Cast Members continue to be distanced and give reminders to keep masks on.
Over at the Walt Disney Theater, all safety markings have been removed as well.
Star Wars Launch Bay is still designated as a Relaxation Station, where you can temporarily cool off without a mask on.
Reminders have been placed in areas where you need to put a mask on.
Stopping for lunch at PizzeRizzo, a Cast Member ensured guests remained distanced waiting in the Mobile Order pick-up line.
Overall, I felt better about visiting mask-free (with exceptions) than I thought I would. In general, guests were respective of putting masks on where required on their own. While masks are required at all attractions and indoor locations, we noticed that while in the expanded queue, masks are not required. We only heard one pre-recorded announcement while we were there to remain distanced. However, we did hear Cast members announcing reminders to distance in lines, though with no specific distance mentioned.
A Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser model has been added to the Walt Disney Presents Gallery and Exhibits. While no opening date, the experience is expected to open in 2022.
For more about the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience, including a look at a “real” lightsaber, take a look at the article below:
UPDATED: Walt Disney World Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser What You Need To Know
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Let’s Hear From You
What do you think of the operational changes at Walt Disney World? Do they make you more or less likely to visit? Would you wait hours in the sun to see the Lion King show? Looking forward to the possible quick return of nighttime spectaculars? And what show would you like to see added back next to the entertainment lineup?
