Disney World News Updates August 2020

Wondering what it’s like at Disney these days? Now that the parks have reopened, and all the new safety precautions are in place, a Disney vacation looks a little different, but it IS still Disney. We’re looking at new trip planning tasks, face coverings, social distancing, Disney Springs, and Disney resorts, for our August 2020 Disney World News Updates.

New Trip Planning Tasks, and Others No Longer Needed

If you had a trip planned in 2020, you may have had to reschedule multiple times, or you may have decided to cancel your trip for now, and are planning to reschedule at a later date. If you have, you are definitely not alone. Whether you are rescheduling or starting to plan for a new trip, there are some new procedures that you are going to encounter along the way.

In order to manage the decreased capacity at each of the parks, Disney has implemented a theme park reservation system called the Disney Park Pass System. If you plan to visit any of the four theme parks during your stay, you first need to take a look at the theme park reservation calendar to make sure that there are theme park reservations available for the days that you are interested in. Here is an example:

You can view Disney’s Park Pass calendar here. Now, in order to make a park reservation for your group, you must have already purchased tickets, or everyone going must have an annual pass (or any combination thereof), and they must be linked to your My Disney Experience account. Currently, reservations can only be made up through September 26, 2021. New Disney resort room reservations also appear as available online through September 26, 2021 as well. When planning, I have always just made my room reservations as far out as possible, and worried about the tickets later, but now, I am hitting that Park Pass calendar first, because while I don’t go to the parks every day of my trip, I want all options available as I start my planning process. My ticket purchase happens much sooner now as well, because I want to lock in those theme park reservations as soon as possible. So, once I have my room reservations and have decided which parks I would like to visit on which days, I purchase tickets and immediately make sure that I can score those theme park reservations.

Additional changes that our Disney planning faces right now, involve setting up our dining reservations, and the temporary suspension of the Fast Pass system. Our dining reservations are no longer made 180 days prior to the first day of our visit. Disney has reduced this to 60 days out for those who have Disney resort reservations, and 30 days out for those who are staying off property. Having our park days set prior to the dining reservations being made is a huge change for me, because I would often modify my park choices based upon whether or not I was able to obtain a dining reservation at a specific location. No more. Changing your park choice for a day is no longer just changing your mind, but making sure that you can acquire a park pass for the day as well. While I have not had this problem yet, I can see this becoming a struggle in the future, as more people venture out and return to the most magical place on earth.

With the Fast Pass Plus system being suspended, this is one piece of our planning that we can eliminate from our planning to-do list. Previously, my touring plan for each park would revolve around which fast passes I could obtain for which time slots. Right now, what I suggest (which is what I am doing myself), is placing the most popular rides at park open or near park closing, and keeping a close eye on those wait times and crowd calendars to fill in the rest of those must do attractions.

Face Coverings and Social Distancing

Face coverings for those 2 years and older are now required nearly everywhere at Disney World. All of the parks require them throughout your park experience, with the exception of a few “relaxation stations” set up in the parks, and while you are stationary consuming food or beverages. The Disney resorts require them to be worn in all common areas, except while swimming in the pool. Disney Springs requires face coverings to be worn throughout your visit as well. Social distancing reminder markings have been set up as well, to remind guests to maintain a 6-foot distance between groups. You will find signs throughout Disney World, as well as ground markings to help maintain pedestrian traffic flow as well as distance.

What’s it like at Disney Springs?

A trip to Disney Springs now involves packing a face covering, or two (in case it rains) as well as parking only in designated lots with temperature screening stations set up for you to go through prior to your visit. We utilized the Orange garage for each trip. During our visits, guests have maintained their distance fairly well and face coverings were worn by everyone we encountered. We have specifically checked out the Boathouse, Paradiso 37, and the House of Blues restaurants which were all limiting table usage to promote social distancing indoors, as well as providing digital and disposable menus. We felt safe and comfortable during each visit… well, as comfortable as one can be wearing a face mask in Florida during the summer.

 

Updates to Resort Offerings

Disney has opened select resorts, with some of the resort offerings being limited. For instance, not all of the dining options at the resorts are available, and some of the pools at the resorts are closed as well. Light housekeeping services will be taking place every other day, unless you are a Disney Vacation Club Member who is using their membership for their stay. In that instance, housekeeping will take place on the 4th and 8th days of your stay. In-room celebrations and in-room dining are both currently unavailable as well.

Magical Express service is available, however, there will be no luggage service provided, so don’t forget to get your luggage from the baggage claim area when you arrive.

Extra Magic hours have also been suspended for Disney resort guests at this time.

Resort Transportation is operating at limited capacities. Physical distancing is being enforced, and face coverings are required at all times. The skyliner is operating with one party per gondola vehicle, and you may find partitions in place inside of buses or monorails.

Overall, Disney still feels like Disney… just with a mask on

So, in case you were worried, because I know I was, Disney is still the magical experience that we all look forward to, just with more personal space and face masks. My gang has gotten rather used to donning the face coverings when we go anywhere in our hometown, so other than the Florida heat, this was not too uncomfortable for us. Our planning processes will need to be adjusted, at least for the time being, so don’t forget about setting up those Disney Park Pass reservations as you start your planning process. When you are ready, Disney is there waiting with strict safety measures and cleaning policies to keep everyone as safe as possible. That’s our Disney World News Updates for August of 2020. Thanks spending some of your valuable time with us!