Planning a trip to DISNEY WORLD During a Pandemic
Let’s start off with saying how much I love Disney! It is childhood and happiness. Josh and I went to Disneyland on our honeymoon and have been wanting to go to Disney World for a while. We never expected to go plan a trip to Disney World during a pandemic though!
We had been planning to go on a vacation in September for a while before Covid hit. Since most things are still closed, our choices for where to go were pretty limited. We had settled on St. George, but then I saw Karina Powell and her family from mrandmrspowell.com at Disney World and so we started entertaining the idea. Now here we are! We know this time can be scary for people, and we hear you. Going to Disney World right now is not going to be for everyone. I know Disney is making every effort possible to keep people safe though, and that is why we feel comfortable going. We have done a lot of research to see if this is right for us and wanted to share what we found about planning a vacation to Disney World during a pandemic.
Mask Mandate
Disney World has a pretty strict mask mandate. You need to wear it all times except when you are eating or swimming. If you are not comfortable with masks (like I am), it may be a hard sell. I have been doing my best to get more comfortable though so I will be ready. I have been looking for some more breathable masks too, so if you know of any, let me know!
Disney World has also set up little stations setup throughout the park where you can take a rest from wearing you mask while you social distance from people. We will definitely take advantage of those!
Now let’s talk about masks for kids. We are not taking our son on this trip since it is an anniversary trip so we don’t have to worry about masks for him. The mask mandate is for kids 2 and up though, so if you are going to be taking your kids and they are over 2, try and help them get accustomed to their mask beforehand.
Flights
Flights are not as readily available as they used to be, but boy are they CHEAP. We got our flights through Delta for under $700 from Salt Lake. Round trip. Nonstop. For 2 people.
Sadly, we didn’t book these flights quickly enough, so we ended up going with Southwest, which still had flights under $700, but with one layover. Moral of the story? Book your flights early!
Flights also require masks to be worn, and the middle seats are being left empty. I don’t know how many people are complaining about this one, right?
Hotels
Have you ever wanted to stay in a Disney hotel? Now is your chance! We got our hotel room for under $1500 at Disney’s Pop Century Resort with 3 day tickets! I know, I know. There are 4 parks, Sid. Our schedule only allows us 3 days at the parks though. If you guys have recommendations on which 3 to go to, let me know! Either way, we are so excited! I don’t know much about Disney World, but I would do anything to stay at a Disneyland hotel, so I’m pretty stoked to stay at a Disney World one!
Rides
From what we have found, most of the rides are still running at the parks, so that is good news!
Park Hours
We are big Disney people who like to stay from opening to closing time. This is definitely going to be a lot easier to do with the updated park hours! Here are the park hours right now:
Magic Kingdom – 9am-7pm
Epcot – 11am-9pm
Animal Kingdom – 8am-6pm
Hollywood Studios – 10am-8pm
However, as of September 8, which is when we’re going, the new park hours are going to be:
Magic Kingdom – 9am-5pm
Epcot – 11am-7pm
Animal Kingdom – 8am-6pm
Hollywood Studios – 10am-7pm
Events/Fireworks
Josh is a BIG firework person, so one of our first questions was whether or not the firework shows were still running. Unfortunately, the are not which was a huge bummer.
As far as events go though, most of them have been cancelled unfortunately. The only ones that I have seen are still running are Taste of EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival and the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. Unfortunately, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has been cancelled.
Food
Unfortunately, the food options are pretty limited. From what I have found, there are enough places open to satisfy your needs, but not the surplus that we are accustomed to. The good news though is the churros, dole whips, and pretzels are still there!
I hope this helps anyone thinking about taking a trip to Disney World during a pandemic! If you have found anything else in your research or experience that I missed, leave me a comment. Our trip isn’t until September, but I will be sure to share our experience and any tips we have for you!
