Help understanding the current Disney!!

[RoseMom]

Hi all! Just a little background: for the past 9+ months my life has been all about covid (I’m an Infection Preventionist with a government organization) and my family (my 10 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in July). Needless to say, my life has been work and family! I would LOVE to take my family to Disney later this year (husband, 10 yo daughter, & 2 yo son). We have been to Disney numerous but not since 2016. Please help me understand how Disney is now with covid and maybe the thinking of how it will be by the fall/holidays. Also, how is dining? Is character dining open? Character meet and greets? When do we think most resorts will be opening back up? Is now actually a good time to go (of course except for covid) due to less crowds? Please help this mama who is out of touch with what is going on at Disney!! Thank you!!

 

[OKW Lover]

All really good questions. Unfortunately, node of us know the answers for what things will be like in the Fall or year-end. The best we can do is tell you what the parks/resorts are like right now and any announced changes.

 

[ucf_knight]

Hi all! Just a little background: for the past 9+ months my life has been all about covid (I’m an Infection Preventionist with a government organization) and my family (my 10 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in July). Needless to say, my life has been work and family! I would LOVE to take my family to Disney later this year (husband, 10 yo daughter, & 2 yo son). We have been to Disney numerous but not since 2016. Please help me understand how Disney is now with covid and maybe the thinking of how it will be by the fall/holidays. Also, how is dining? Is character dining open? Character meet and greets? When do we think most resorts will be opening back up? Is now actually a good time to go (of course except for covid) due to less crowds? Please help this mama who is out of touch with what is going on at Disney!! Thank you!!

There is plenty of stuff open that coming now is a great family vacation. Don’t worry about what’s not open and just come and enjoy what’s available.

 

[Mome Rath]

Please help me understand how Disney is now with covid and maybe the thinking of how it will be by the fall/holidays. Also, how is dining? Is character dining open? Character meet and greets? When do we think most resorts will be opening back up? Is now actually a good time to go (of course except for covid) due to less crowds? Please help this mama who is out of touch with what is going on at Disney!! Thank you!!

Right now, the problem is that it is going to look very different by the time fall rolls around. But, just some general points; don't forget this fall is the 50th anniversary of MK, so people expect it will be more busy esp. if the vaccine is more widely available this summer. There are some character dining experiences open, but they are obviously modified. There are character cavalcades right now, not meet and greets (the cavalcades are random mini-parades featuring different characters). The resort schedule is still up in the air for the most part. As for less crowds; when they first opened back up, that was the only real time for low crowds. Without Fastpasses, it is old school Disney now with socially distanced long lines, with lines to get into merchandise locations as well.

I've not gone with the covid restrictions in place, but I would (and have 2 trips already planned) if I had a vaccine.

 

[Cheburashka]

Hi all! Just a little background: for the past 9+ months my life has been all about covid (I’m an Infection Preventionist with a government organization) and my family (my 10 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in July). Needless to say, my life has been work and family! I would LOVE to take my family to Disney later this year (husband, 10 yo daughter, & 2 yo son). We have been to Disney numerous but not since 2016. Please help me understand how Disney is now with covid and maybe the thinking of how it will be by the fall/holidays. Also, how is dining? Is character dining open? Character meet and greets? When do we think most resorts will be opening back up? Is now actually a good time to go (of course except for covid) due to less crowds? Please help this mama who is out of touch with what is going on at Disney!! Thank you!!

Since no one knows what WDW will be like in the fall, I'll answer your questions based on what it's been like since it's reopened (we've been twice since reopening, once in July and once in December).

• Everyone is required to wear a mask in all public areas, indoors and outdoors, with the exception of when you're on the pool deck of a Disney resort (though you must wear it when ordering from the pool bar). Resort pools, waterslides, hot tubs, etc. are open as usual.
• Many restaurants are closed, and there is no info out as to when the closed ones will reopen. Check your resort to see which dining options are still open at your resort, and check the park dining list to see which dining options are open at each park. Character dining does exist at a few venues: Be Our Guest (the Beast), Topolino's Terrace breakfast (Fab Four), Garden Grill lunch & dinner (Mickey, Chip & Dale), Ravello's Saturday character breakfast at Four Seasons Orlando (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy), but most character dining restaurants are either closed completely (Tusker House) or not offering their characters (Chef Mickey). The character dining experience is different, in that they stop and wave to you from a distance, rather than coming close and posing for pictures with you. No close proximity or touching is allowed: guests must stay seated when the characters come around.
• Many resorts are open, but there is no info out as to when the closed ones will reopen. By fall, maybe, maybe not. WDW is hemorrhaging money, and they're saving some by not opening all of the resorts & restaurants. That won't change until attendance increases due to capacity increases. You'd need a good crystal ball to know when that will be possible. Right now I'd plan based on the assumption that what's open now will be your only options.
• It is definitely less crowded. Ride lines aren't very short, though, because ride capacity has been cut, and they occasionally have to stop to clean the vehicles, but that isn't bad imo. Lines look much longer than they actually take for two reasons: 1. guests are spaced 6 feet apart from other parties, and 2. there is no FastPass, so the line moves at a continuous pace, only stopping for the occasional ride cleaning. I happen to much prefer it this way (you don't have to schedule your day around FPs or dread standing in an immobile standby line), but opinions vary.

Is it worthwhile? Yes! We've been twice and enjoyed it both times, and we're going back in March.

 

[Pats Dragon]

My advice is don't go. Things may change but it is annoying to find half the shops and restaurants closed, haphazard hours sometimes when they are open, no shows or firworks, loooooong lines for rides, masks, inferior menus with few choices at restaurants. You will likely be disappointed. Give them a while to get things back in order.

 

[Cheburashka]

inferior menus with few choices at restaurants.

I haven't found the menus to be inferior at table service restaurants. Just as an fyi to the OP. Counter service might be inferior, and even table service might have fewer options than before, but there are still several choices and the food can be excellent. In fact, weirdly, it seems like we've had our best table service dining experiences, in terms of food quality, since reopening.

 

[nw6675]

My advice is don't go. Things may change but it is annoying to find half the shops and restaurants closed, haphazard hours sometimes when they are open, no shows or firworks, loooooong lines for rides, masks, inferior menus with few choices at restaurants. You will likely be disappointed. Give them a while to get things back in order.

I agree with this. We had a nice trip in November, but we went with very low expectations.

It is very different now and most of the magic was gone. The cutbacks and closures were evident.
Since we had all been many times we weren't as disappointed as I think we would have been otherwise.