Disney During Resort Reopening

Balloons on display at Disney Springs

If you’ve followed me on Instagram or know me outside of this blog, you know my love of Disney runs deep. Real deep. So much so that this blog might soon be overtaken with all things Disney. Just kidding… buuuut, seriously… I mean, it IS a “speckle of joy” to me.

We are annual passholders, even though we live in North Carolina (hello, did you recall how many times we visited Disney last year?!). We are also Disney Vacation Members, which pretty much guarantees we will spend at least one week there each year.

On the porch area outside Disney’s Boardwalk lobby

My mom and I were able to travel to Disney in early March, right before the announcement of the park closures. (I was the “weird” one at the time who packed cleaning supplies before it became “normal” on plane rides.) During our most recent trip, it was weird to see the differences a few months can make. But it also felt a little joyful to know we were one of the last to shut the place down and one of the first to see it reopen. Both brought about different emotions to our journey ever since dad died in December 2018. Side note — I do plan to document these previous trips at some point as they were major parts of our healing over this past year.

This post is a little delayed and some things have changed since all of the parks reopening last week.

I do want to preface that we were there at the end of June/ beginning of July, so none of the theme parks had reopened at that time. We were able to stay at both Disney’s Boardwalk Resort and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. This post is all based on observations I had while at the resort and, again, are subject to change. I also understand that each person may have a different experience as well.

If changes are made since my visit to Disney World, I can imagine it is only revisions for the better! Disney did a very good job with the plans they had in place, but I understand once you add in greater numbers of people, revisions may/will need to be made.

The following are some (not all) of the safety measures that I observed
while at Disney World during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Lobby of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

1) Masks.
Disney requires masks to be worn at all times, except when eating. I do want to make an observation that it felt very refreshing to see everyone in their masks. Even when we stopped at a rest stop on the way down, everyone had a mask on and respected each other’s space. It didn’t feel so odd or out of place to be in a mask, especially when everyone around you was doing the same. I have also been working on my Tyra Banks “smize”… you know, “smile with your eyes”.

When we were on property, there were plenty of people walking around sipping on drinks and eating snacks without a mask on. Since our stay, they have changed a few guidelines to say that you are only able to take off your mask to eat when stationary. Neck Gators are also not allowed as a face covering.

Enhanced Cleaning signage in the room at Disney’s Boardwalk

2) Enhanced cleaning.
All extra bedding was sealed with a zip tie. The remote control for the TV was also placed in a plastic bag after it was cleaned.

3) Check-in online.
This is something they have integrated for a while now, especially with the introduction of the magic bands as your room keys. This helps keep person-to-person contact down & you can go straight to your room. If the room is not yet available, they will alert you via text when your room is ready.

Signage on Disney’s Boardwalk

4) Health and Safety Reminders.
These were posted everywhere.
Literally. You couldn’t miss them nor have an excuse that you didn’t see them posted… Doors, windows, in the middle of the walkway, etc. They also had “COVID-19 Warning” signs posted around that pretty much stated that by visiting Walt Disney World, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.

5) Pools.
Each of the pool chars were grouped together for family seating sections. Each grouping was spaced out from the next group. When finished with your chairs, cast members would clean each of them.

Although we did not visit the pools during our stay, we had a balcony overlooking one at Boardwalk and frequently walked past ones at Wilderness Lodge.

6) Bus transportation.
In past times, you’d see how many people you could fit on one of these busses. This time, you were very spaced out and each resort had it’s own bus (didn’t share routes with other resorts). There were signs that marked off seats to not sit in as well as lots of barriers between each section/family group.  There were 6 sections on the bus with only one party in each section. If you were just one person in your party, you’d have a whole section to yourself. And, all of the ropes (that you could hold when standing up) were zip tied so they were unable to be used/touched.

Disney’s bus transportation

7) Mobile Food Ordering.
We used this a LOT, so we became very familiar with the process.
They recommend ordering your food via the mobile app (as available) for pick up. There was a little bit of a wait since they cooked your food when you placed your order. I typically marked in my app that I had arrived when I was actually just leaving our room/cabin. I discovered I wouldn’t have to wait as long that way. And they started to know who we were since there were not as many visitors at the time.

At most places (such as quick service restaurants & gift shops), they had a designated Entrance and Exit. A cast member also took care of filling your drinks for you (this was something you were previously able to do yourself).

The temperature check at the Lime garage at Disney Springs

8) Temperature checks.
You did not have to do this when entering each resort, but did have to pass through a temperature check before entering Disney Springs. This was a very quick process. And, with crowds so low at the time, we did not have to ever wait in a line for this. There was spacing markers on the ground, if needed, though.

9) Stormtroopers on the roof.
There are no traditional character meet and greets, but Disney is doing well with what they have available to utilize. At Disney Springs, they had Star Wars Stormtroopers on the roof and interacted with the guests passing by. They kept guests happy and provided laughter. They also kept groups from gathering too closely together.

This is the menu at Fronter Cocina at Disney Springs.
At most other places, you would be given a single-use paper to scan the QR code.

10) Restaurants.
Restaurants were not filled to capacity. They had spaced out seating. They also did not utilize all of the tables. In some restaurants, where they were unable to remove all of the tables for spacing, you would see signs on tables that would state, “For your health and safety this table is not available.”

You view the menu on your phone. They would give you a piece of paper with a QR code on it. You can scan the code with your phone’s camera to access the menu on the Disney website. If you search the restaurant in the app and click “menu” (as you would pre-Covid), it will populate the same thing.  Some menus are modified during this time.

Your final check comes in a paper folder to sign the receipt. Once you leave, they spray down your table/chairs and let it sit for a few before seating another party.

While this list is not all comprehensive, I hope it gives you a gist into what it was like at Walt Disney World during resort reopening. Disney is really working hard to keep everyone (cast members and guests) safe.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment below.
If you travel, or have traveled, to Disney since my visit, please feel free to comment with any additional sightings too!