Tips for Disney World During COVID-19

October 4, 2020
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What to Know Before You Travel to Disney World During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A lot has changed at Disney World since 2020, including new rules, procedures, and modifications to the usual Disney vacation experience. Because of all these changes, it’s really important to know what to expect before you visit Disney World during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some essential tips to help you plan your trip to Disney World in the time of COVID.

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This post was last updated on February 16, 2022

These are the show notes for Go Informed Podcast episode 53. Click below to hear the show now, or search for Go Informed: Build A Better Vacation on your favorite podcast app!

Click here to listen to my 2022 expectations for all the US theme parks

Be aware of Disney World’s COVID-19 safety protocols

Disney has implemented a lot of new rules to help keep everyone safe. Be sure to get familiar with the requirements well before your visit. Your best resource for the complete rules and procedures will always be Disney World’s official website.

In addition to Disney’s rules, make sure your state or country does not fall under a travel or self-quarantine restriction from the State of Florida.

75-second Disney World Quick Guide

You may have to wear a mask

Masks are still required for all guests on Disney World transportation. Everywhere else they are optional for fully vaccinated guests, encouraged indoors for unvaxed guests.

Here’s a great post from Disney Dream Co. with some excellent tips about wearing a mask at the parks.

Advance Park Reservations are required at Disney World

In addition to a valid park ticket, Disney World guests must make advance reservations at one park per day. Before you even choose the dates for your trip, take a look at the park reservation calendar.

Consult the Disney World park reservation calendar before you book anything

As travel ramps up and more guests return to the parks, demand for those park reservations is heating up. You might be surprised to know that some of the Disney World parks may be completely booked months in advance. Start your planning with a visit to Disney’s park reservation calendar here. Click on “view current availability” to see a calendar with all the parks through 2022.

A quick look at June 2021 shows limited options, especially if you want to visit Hollywood Studios (home of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge). This screenshot was taken on April 14, 2021. You can see that even two months in advance, there are only available reservations for one of the Disney World theme parks.

Disney World park reservation availability for June 2021. — Checking the Disney World park reservation calendar is an imperative first step in planning your vacation during the COVID-19 operations. For summer 2021 many parks are selling out months in advance.

So a key tip here is to plan ahead, especially if you’ll be traveling during prime school-break times.

Click here for my Disney World ticket buying guide

As soon as you buy your tickets, be sure to jump on the Disney World website and get your park reservations. Capacity is limited in each park so you may not get your first choice. Guests staying on-site at Disney World do get priority for these reservations.

Another great tip is to use park-hopping when reservations are tight. So far there have been no problems getting into any of the Disney World parks when hopping to them in the afternoon. Make the reservation to start your day at an available park, then hop to your first-choice park after 2pm. See my notes about park-hopping below.

Busy at Disney World equals busy at Universal Orlando

Incidentally, if you see a full reservation calendar at Disney World then that is a sign that Universal Orlando will be hitting max capacity too. Universal does not have a reservation system. If you intend to visit there on a high-demand day, be sure to arrive early. Or stay on-site at Universal to get early park admission.

You can learn more about Universal Orlando’s COVID-19 operations here.

Park-Hopping is allowed after 2pm

Visitors with park-hopper tickets are allowed to visit more than one park on the same day. Guests will need a reservation for the park they choose to start the day in, then anytime after 2:00pm they can move to another park with no additional reservation needed.

There are few important things to note about park-hopping during Disney World’s COVID-19 operations.

Before hopping to another park, guests must have first entered the park that they have a reservation for on that day. For example, if your reservation is for Magic Kingdom and you want to go to Hollywood Studios at the end of the day, you will have to first go to, and enter, Magic Kingdom. You can’t just sleep in and go to Hollywood Studios with no reservation.

Disney bus transportation has resumed between the theme parks. However, to board a bus from one park to another, guests will have to show a valid park-hopper ticket. Cast members will verify the ticket before allowing entry to the bus. The Epcot monorail to/from Magic Kingdom is currently not operating, but the Skyliner and boat transportation are taking guests between Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Because of capacity limitations, on any given day not every park may be available for park-hopping. Guests may call (407) 560-5000 for a real-time recorded message, or check the Disney World website at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/day/ to find out which Disney World parks are currently available for afternoon park hopping.

Here’s an example of the park hopper hours from the Disney World website. Note the current absence of parades, fireworks, and events on the park schedule.

During COVID-19, Disney World capacity may be limited

At Disney World during COVID operations, park, and ride, capacity may be limited. Attendance in each park is dictated by the reservation system, and ride capacity may be lower than normal.

You’ll also find that the on-site Disney hotels are taking limited reservations, keeping the resorts far from full, and not all of the hotels are open right now. Which means you likely won’t see any extraordinary room rate discounts. But you will have plenty of space at the pool!

Rent a car

Disney World shuttle buses, monorail, Skyliner, and boats are also operating below standard capacity, resulting in long waits for transportation. Disney has also cancelled its Minnie Van service, which was a Disney version of Lyft.

This is one time I recommend renting a car so you have the flexibility to get around on your own terms. (Be sure to listen to the podcast episode for more discussion on this topic).

You will pay a daily fee to park your car at your Disney World hotel, but this covers parking throughout the property, including standard parking at the theme parks. So it won’t cost you extra to drive and park at the theme parks if you’re staying on-site.

Disney World park hours are shorter than usual during COVID-19 operations

Another limiting factor in your ability to tour Disney World right now is the park hours. Disney has cut back the operating hours for all four theme parks, especially late nights.

Operating times are staggered between the parks, so you might notice Magic Kingdom open from 9-9 but Epcot open from 11-10.

While the hours are shortened you will likely spend more time at your hotel than normal. Keep this in mind when deciding where you want to stay.

Also, just like everything related to COVID-19, things can change unexpectedly at Disney World. Watch the park hours daily – Disney is known to change them with no notice and if an hour is added you’ll want to know about it.

No FastPasses at Disney World during COVID-19

A big change right now is that Disney World is not using FastPasses in any of the parks. During COVID-19 operations, all guests wait in the regular standby queue.

This means you don’t have to worry about reserving FastPass+ in advance, something we’ve talked about a lot on the podcast. But it also means you don’t have those FastPasses to help you skip the regular queue.

Because park capacity is limited, wait times have generally been short. But if you visit on a holiday weekend or a day that the park is at its full COVID-19 capacity you may encounter long lines. As always, I advise that you arrive at the park before opening to take advantage of the especially quiet first hour of the day.

Need some tips to help you get there early? Check out this post and podcast episode about mastering your theme park morning.

Another fantastic resource to help you plan your Disney World touring strategy is TouringPlans.com. I highly recommend a subscription to their site – and their Unofficial Guide to Disney World too.

No parades at Disney World during COVID-19, but fireworks are back at Magic Kingdom and Epcot

Several of the most popular Disney events are not happening during COVID-19 operations. This includes all parades. However, Magic Kingdom and Epcot fireworks will return beginning July 1, 2021.

Character meet-and-greets are also not happening in the traditional sense. Characters are appearing around the parks at a distance from guests. You can still snap a selfie with Mickey but he’ll be at least 6 feet away from you.

One popular innovation at the Magic Kingdom is the introduction of character cavalcades. These are essentially individual parade floats that pass through the park at unscheduled times. The floats have characters on board and are a delightful way to get a little bit of that Disney parade feel without drawing a crowd.

Disney World dining during COVID-19

Restaurants and dining have definitely been affected by the operational changes at Disney World. First off, not all restaurants are open. Even though there are fewer guests at Disney right now, the reduction in dining options means you will have competition for tables at popular restaurants. So if you have a place you want to dine be sure to make a reservation.

Disney World dining reservations can now be made 60 days in advance. This is a change from the past when you could book a table up to 180 days ahead.

Mobile ordering is very strongly encouraged whenever possible. All the quick-service restaurants have mobile ordering as an option in the official Disney World app. Use this option – it will save you a ton of time and it cuts out a face-to-face transaction.

Character meals do still exist at Disney World, but there are fewer locations and the characters do not visit the table. Disney has come up with some creative ways to provide interaction from a distance.

Listen to the podcast episode for more tips about Disney World during COVID-19

Listen to the podcast recording for more tips, including advice about what to do if you choose to wait before visiting Disney World. You can click the audio at the top of this post, or listen on your favorite podcast app. This is episode 53.

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Additional Resources for Planning Your Trip to Disney World and Universal Orlando

Considering a trip to Hawaii in 2021? Click here for my tips for Hawaii travel during COVID-19

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Tips for Disney World During COVID-19

What to Know Before You Travel to Disney World During the COVID-19 Pandemic