Walt Disney World Reopening One Year Later – What Works & What Doesn’t

The Walt Disney World parks reopened a year ago this month (July 11, 2020). There were some big adjustments as the parks started back up – some good, some bad, some still bad. As we move towards more ‘normal’ capacity crowds and into the two most popular seasons, Halloween and the Holidays, let’s take a look at what Disney got right, what they didn’t, and what we can live with… for now. 

The Good

Cavalcades 
When Magic Kingdom reopened it was without parades. What replaced them are the Character Cavalcades. Think of it as a one float/vehicle parade. While they started as “various times” throughout the day, you can now find the times in the My Disney Experience App. The best part? Each park has its own version! While I can’t wait to see the parades return, I hope they can keep some version of these cavalcades. Remember, pre-closure, Magic Kingdom was the only park to host a parade, Festival of Fantasy!

Character Encounters
Character Encounters have replaced Character Meet and Greets. While there isn’t any hugging or autographs, you can take photos with the characters at various locations throughout the parks. This is something my son, Johnny, has enjoyed much more than Meet and Greets. There is some great interaction to be had, even from a distance. And the best part is not waiting in line. Each location has multiple areas where you can stand for pictures and the characters rotate through. While I patiently wait for the day I can give Mickey a big hug (I may actually cry when that happens), these Character Encounters are great engagement for those who don’t want to wait in line, or for kids who are afraid to get too close.

Table Service Walk-up List Option
While table service dining options have increased and improved since reopening, there are still hurdles to overcome (check out our thoughts below). A new option in the My Disney Experience app is the Walk-up List option. You can see which table service restaurants are open for walk-ups and add your name to the list. The only downfall is that you do need to be near the restaurant.

PhotoPass
PhotoPass has really taken a step in the right direction. In addition to the character Magic Shots, there are also tiny world and super zoom Magic Shots. They also just recently brought back photo props!

The Bad

Mobile Ordering
Mobile Ordering has been around since 2017 and was a great convenience to pre-order without standing in line to wait. When the parks reopened it became required for most Quick Service dining options and still remains the preferred method of ordering. The result was that there were hour-long waits for time slots for ordering. While there have been improvements to the system, the necessity to plan further in advance is definitely a disadvantage. With Mobile Order still being the primary way to order, you would think that once you ask your order to be prepared, it would be pretty timely. But we have found that is not always the case and it can still take upwards of 30 minutes to receive your food.

Resort Transportation
Quickly after the reopening, Disney recognized the need for more resort transportation buses. With reduced capacity, there simply weren’t enough to fulfill their needs. They brought on buses from a private company to alleviate the need. However, there are still issues with available buses that continue.

The Slow Return of Entertainment Offerings
Hollywood Studios has been hit hard by the slow return of entertainment offerings. Indiana Jones, Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Fantasmic do not currently have return dates. With few attractions (two of those being brand new) brings high guest demand to the park.

Streetmosphere really added to the uniquely immersive experience that is part of going to Walt Disney World. Which may be why Character Sightings/Encounters are popular now (think Anastasia/Druzella at Princess Fairytale Hall)? Sadly, there were already so few park Streetmosphere acts just before closing last year. Are the Citizens of Hollywood now gone forever? The GF Society Orchestra was let go with no promise of returning. There also seem to be fewer Dapper Dan performances than ever… It seems Disney is using this timely opportunity to reset a lot of their parks’ offerings.

The In-between

Character Dining
Character dining has been available since the parks reopened. However, the experience has been modified. Instead of interacting with the characters, they parade around and stop briefly for photos. The close encounter is missing. While that’s understandable, the value of the dining experience has gone down, and hopefully, soon we will see some increased interactions.

Dining Reservations
Gone are the 180-day dining reservations. When the parks reopened Walt Disney World moved to a more palatable 60-day dining window. This is great news for those that don’t want to plan where they want to eat 6 months in advance, much less their vacations. Unfortunately, over the last year dining reservations have been very difficult to get. With more restaurants opening, and increased capacity in the restaurants, this problem will hopefully work itself out.

FastPass
At the parks reopening, it was announced that the FastPass system would not be returning. Last year, there was no need for the FastPass system. Rumors and speculations are swirling after the announcement of the new paid Disney Premier Access at Disneyland Paris. I’m hoping for a system similar to the MaxPass that Disneyland offered. But as we are seeing the return to normal crowd levels, it’s time to do something about the long lines.

Park Reservations
In addition to park tickets, park reservations are also the new norm. Three reservation options are depending on the type of ticket you have. Theme Park Tickets, for those guests not staying on property. Select Resort Hotels for most Disney resort packages or hotel stays, and Annual Passes. On any given day your ticket may be blocked from one or all parks. While Theme Park Tickets and Select Resort Hotels can book up to 10 days (the max length of a multi-day ticket) Annual Passholders can only book 3 days at a time. While most days are currently available through the end of the year, last-minute planners may be at a loss.

Park Hopping
Hopping became available again in January 2021. Currently, park hopping isn’t available until 2:00 pm each day. It is great to have the option to park hop again. However, you are required to scan into the park where you have your reservation before hopping. So if you really want to visit a park you can’t get a reservation for, you can hop, but stop by your assigned park first. The 2:00pm time is presumably due to the Rise Of Resistance Virtual Queue second access at 1:00pm each day. This allows those with reservations for Hollywood Studios to be the only ones able to get into the queue, which is a good thing.

Delayed Construction and its effects on the 50th Anniversary Celebration
Understandably, construction has been delayed. But to what cost? With the undetermined delay to Tron, there is no new attraction coming to Magic Kingdom for the 50th Celebration.

Over at Epcot, Ratatouille was set to open in May of 2019, now scheduled for October 1. There is no opening date announced for the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. Future World continues to be a maze of construction walls with little known on the fate of what’s to come. The Mary Poppins United Kingdom overlay ended up getting the ax. Space 220 is showing signs of opening sooner than later. The replacement of MouseGears, Creations Shop is to open this summer along with the return of Club Cool. But looking at the construction, they have a long way to go.

Let’s Hear From You

Overall there have been some great positive changes that came with the reopening of Walt Disney World. I hope many of the updates continue (or are evolved). But there are new difficulties with the park experience which must be fixed (transportation, mobile order, lack of entertainment in particular). What new procedures would you like to see stay in the parks? What do you want back that hasn’t returned yet?

 

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