To start, I really don’t feel like you can do Disney World “wrong”. I think Disney deliberately does such a good job of making sure everyone has a good experience and making everything feel magical and special even in a pandemic. It still felt like the happiest place on earth to us!
Here are some guidelines and answers to frequently asked questions to help you set expectations for your trip. I’ll also include some of our trip highlights!
What kind of precautions were they taking while being open during COVID?
Lots of measures were taken to ensure cleanliness and social distancing. Upon entrance into each park there were mandatory temperature checks. Lines for park entry, rides, buses, food, etc. had tape markers every six feet and cast members were vigilant about making sure you stayed behind your line marker.
Plexiglass was put in the winding areas of the line where a different party may be next to you. There was also plexiglass on some of the rides (like the safari in Animal Kingdom) separating rows. Many of the rides were socially distanced so there would be a row or two left empty between parties, which did make some lines longer but since each party was spaced out lines felt like they were constantly moving which was nice. Eating and drinking was not permitted while in line.
There were designated eating and drinking areas, they asked if you were snacking or drinking on the go that you step off to the side to do so. Also in dining areas there were multiple tables blocked off so different parties would be spaced out, and cast members were quickly cleaning off and sanitizing tables between people. All of the food and treat buying was done with contactless payment (order on the Disney World app and pick it up) and plexiglass was used in all cases.
The buses to get between parks and back to our hotel were separated by party with plexiglass up and stickers blocking off certain seats, none of the buses felt full at all.
Rides were sanitized every 15-30 minutes and there were hand sanitizing stations before and after every ride as well as throughout the line and park, also portable hand washing stations were every where.
I would recommend packing a PhoneSoap to sanitize your things throughout the trip! Use code OLIVIABETH for aa discount!
Masks, and how strict they were with my daughter’s mask?
You have to wear a mask at ALL TIMES, the only time we took our masks off were for eating or drinking. All pictures must be taken with masks on, there are cast members throughout the park who enforce that masks are being properly worn (especially in the popular photo spots). Bring multiple masks for you and your kids, Florida weather is hot and humid (also the occasional insane downpour) so it was nice to be able to switch to a clean, dry mask mid-day.
As far as my daughter was concerned, she had to have her mask on when entering/exiting the park and when she was getting on a ride but outside of those times they weren’t super strict about her having it on.
Here are some of our favorite masks we took:
Where did you stay?
Since we went out a little early, we stayed at the JW Mariott Bonnet Creek for two days and then moved over to the Disney Caribbean Beach Resort with Will’s family.
My suggestion: I would HIGHLY suggest staying at a resort with Skyliner access. Especially if you have young kids! To get into the parks, you can ride the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios and/or Epcot so easily and take the bus to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. The bus wait times are much longer and they only take people at half capacity so it almost takes twice as long to get there vs. the Skyliner.
The Caribbean Beach, Riviera, Pop Century & Art of Animation Resorts all have Skyliner access!
What parks did you do?
We did all the parks, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. We did have park hoppers for all of the days (three days total) so we usually did half day in one park and then ended in another.
If you have more time, I might suggest splitting up the park days if you can! I think it would’ve been really nice to have a break/pool day between it all to rest and nap the kids more. By the end, we were all pretty exhausted and our poor son was beyond tired!
How did you do kids and naps?
We were pretty much going non-stop and didn’t take breaks to naps so when the kids were ready we just laid the seats down in the stroller, pulled down the shade, turned the sound machine on our phones, and walked laps until they were asleep!
You definitely need to just go with the flow. If you are at a resort with Skyliner access maybe nap them at the hotel for a smoother day. Kids are resilient! Don’t be too stressed if they don’t get the same quality of naps they get at home.
What stroller did you take?
We took The Twin+ from Zoe Strollers, we were told by all of you that it is the best umbrella stroller and it truly is so amazing. We can’t say enough good things about it!
It is so compact when folded, drives great and is great quality. I remember being so shocked when I put a question box up and SO many of you commented that this was the BEST umbrella stroller and now I understand the hype! We’ve loved it even for mall trips, etc.
I would also recommend bringing a baby carrier! We have THIS ONE and love it. It was perfect for when my son was feeling restless in the stroller.
What outfits did you wear?
Bring a rain jacket FOR SURE! You are going to want to bring the best walking shoes you own because Disney World is HUGE compared to Disneyland and requires a lot of walking every day. Also smart to bring a good spare pair of shoes in case of rain (not fun walking around with soaking wet shoes and socks for the rest of the day). My feet also get super hot when I walk a lot so I had these flip flops and these Birkenstocks to change into throughout the day and highly recommend it!
Also, if you are looking for the BEST no-show sock ever, try these cushioned ones. Trust me! You’ll never go back to another pair.
Never needed a sweater, just short sleeve shirts and jean shorts or pants is what I wore every day!
Here are the links to what I wore. I also included similar short choices at the end since mine are Madewell last year!
Where were your favorite places to eat?
We love snacking as we go, ate lots of churros, Mickey pretzels, and frozen lemonade.
We brought TONS and tons of our Thrive Life Snackies and it was the best to have healthy treats while we waiting in lines or when we got “hangry”. Dried strawberries, bananas, coconut, and raspberries were our favorites.
Our top favorite restaurant was Via Napoli in Epcot, the best pizza and salad!! We LOVE the house salad and usually get a margherita and pepperoni pizza. Also in Epcot it’s fun to grab little bites from places all over the “world”, we had some great fish & chips from the London village and an incredible Mickey-shaped macaron from the French bakery.
We had some great BBQ in Animal Kingdom at Flame Tree Barbecue, we recommend the pulled-pork sandwich or the rib and chicken dinner plate.
We lucked out on our one rainy day to have lunch inside the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, we didn’t have reservations but really wanted to get out of the rain so we were the first people there before they opened and they got us in! You sit in cars with a funny sci-fi movie playing in the background. They had a great BBQ burger that came with an onion ring and fried banana pepper on top!
Our last meal was from Sleepy Hollow in Magic Kingdom, they had some delicious corn dogs and chicken and waffles!
Side note – one night we ordered Chipotle on UberEats and ate it in the courtyard of our hotel which was fun and delicious too.
Did you travel with your own pack n’ plays and car seats?
We did travel with our own car seats but the hotel had rollaway cribs for the kids.
Note: if you stay at a Disney resort, (double-check) but they should have a bus that will take you to and from the airport so you will NOT need car seats while there! Traveling with car seats adds a whole other level of chaos, I swear…
Of COURSE, we brought our SlumberPods (can’t travel without them)!! Use code OLIVIABETH for a discount always!
Okay, I think that’s it! I know that’s a lot of information so let me know if you have any questions and enjoy your trip if you go!
-Liv
