Let’s Talk about Disney’s INSANE First Half of 2021
Time moves so strangely lately. Last year dragged on as if the calendar moved backward rather than forward.
Conversely, 2021 has rolled along so quickly that you may not have noticed it’s already more than halfway over!
For The Walt Disney Company, the past six months have come with a shocking reversal of fortune, as the pandemic suddenly slowed to a crawl.
This sudden change forced immediate park changes that few within the company had expected.
Let’s talk about Disney’s insane first half of 2021, which has set up a stunningly ordinary second half of the year!
The First Sign of Hope
For all its atrocities, 2020 ended on an upbeat note. In mid-December, the Federal Drug Administration gave emergency authorization to a COVID-19 vaccine.
Photo: Rutgers
While supplies would remain in short supply for the next four months, this action hinted that the worst was nearly over for many.
Walt Disney World took this opportunity to increase attendance by 40 percent and even brought back a popular amenity.
Starting on New Year’s Day, guests could once again Park Hop around the Disney campus.
Yes, the amenity came with additional concessions – the requirement of a Park Pass and a delay until 2 p.m. – but it was something. We all needed a win then.
Park hopping sign
Of course, we took the good with the bad. Disney also announced the closure of Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom in January.
Even worse, the financially damaged company cut expenses by ending the Magical Express program, a decision I still hope they reconsider.
Still, we received one more piece of good news at the start of the year. The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts operated as usual.
Unlike other pandemic festivals, it didn’t include “Taste of…” in the name. Instead, it was a full-fledged event, albeit with stringent safety protocols in place.
Again, we were taking what we could get in the wake of a disastrous 2020.
Increased Optimism
By February 1st, something had changed in the United States. Vaccine rollouts started in earnest, allowing more than one million daily doses by early February.
Photo: MGN Online
Every vaccination brought Disney theme parks that much closer to a tipping point, a time when the company could roll back pandemic measures.
At one point that month, I mentioned that optimistic projections saw the United States reaching 70 percent immunization by July 4th.
We will narrowly fall short of that goal, but it’s because some individuals chose not to take the shot.
Distribution improved enough that everyone who wanted the vaccine could get it during the first half of 2021.
For Disney executives, that was the Hail Mary pass they never expected to complete but did!
By March, the optimism had grown to the point that California health officials signed off on the reopening of Disneyland.
I maintain that the metaphor of the pandemic is that it shut down the Happiest Place on Earth. Well, the opposite applies, too.
Symbolically, nothing proved that Disney was on the way back more than the return of Disneyland!
Image Credit: Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register
Of course, the turn of events happened so quickly that park officials proved unprepared.
Disney California Adventure was in the midst of the first-ever A Touch of Disney event, which went so well that the park added more dates.
Alas, Disneyland could have reopened two or three weeks sooner if not for those additional dates. Oops! Who knew?
Still, on April 30th, Disneyland finally came back after more than 13 months away…and yes, absence did make our hearts grow fonder.
Plus, Disney California Adventure opened Avengers Campus on June 4th to massive crowds and rave reviews. So, everything is better now!
A Magical April
I suspect that park officials would acknowledge that the tide turned for good by the end of April.
Obviously, the reopening of Disneyland factors heavily here. However, many positives occurred during March and April at Walt Disney World as well.
Disney’s Blizzard Beach reopened on March 7th, almost exactly a year after it had closed.
That’s the longest stretch Walt Disney World has gone without an open water park since the days before Disney’s River Country in the early 1970s!
In April, park officials unveiled MagicMobile, a project that Disney expedited due to the pandemic.
Image Credit; Disney
With MagicMobile, guests can enter a theme park merely by showing a ticket on their smartphones. You don’t even need to unlock the phone!
Disney had planned MagicMobile as a means to phase out MagicBands. However, it solved some high-touch interactions with cast members, too.
Image Credit: Disney
Along the same line, Disney’s Animal Kingdom unveiled a new security system that works similar to ones at airports.
The full-body scanner allows you to walk through the gate. You don’t need to go through a bag check or remove metal objects as long as you don’t set off the alarm.
Photo: Evolv
EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios quickly adopted the same methodology, switching Disney’s security systems virtually overnight.
Disney also continued to reopen popular hotels. For example, Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort returned on March 22nd.
Image Credit: Disney
Still, I would argue that the most significant comeback took place on April 24th. On that date, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover finally reopened.
For loyal and faithful Walt Disney World fans, that moment might have qualified as our Disneyland reopening, at least in 2021.
Once the PeopleMover returned to service, we all felt like the world was a bit brighter.
Return to Normal
On April 2nd, a shocking moment occurred. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it’s one of the most important announcements of my lifetime.
A character cavalcade in Walt Disney World
Image Credit: Disney
The CDC published the following policy update:
“Americans who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can safely travel at home and abroad, as long as they take basic precautions like wearing masks.”
Masks are likely to be a thing of the past by this Summer at Walt Disney World
Image Credit: Disney
Suddenly, the future seemed full of hope once again. Finally, those of us who received our shots could return to normal.
Frankly, Disney executives didn’t quite know how to react to such prosperous news.
Pandemic-related policy rollbacks started in earnest a few weeks later. For example, Disney ended temperature checks on May 16th.
Almost simultaneously, the parks relaxed face-covering policies. First, Disney decided that they weren’t necessary outdoors.
By mid-June, Walt Disney World turned all face mask decisions into matters of personal choice.
You can and should wear one if you’re not vaccinated or feel safer by doing so. However, Disney no longer requires it nor verifies vaccination status.
Roughly ten weeks after the CDC’s declaration, Walt Disney World had reset most of its policies to pre-pandemic status.
In fact, June 17th, 2021, represents one of the greatest days ever for the Disney theme park empire.
On that date, every Disney park in the world was open to the public. It was the first time since January of 2020!
Two weeks later, Magic Kingdom and EPCOT hosted the first fireworks presentations in more than 15 months.
Now, we can finally say with complete sincerity that Walt Disney World is back to normal!
Disney has had such an insane year…and it’s only halfway over! Thankfully, everything from this moment forward should be wonderful.
We’re all ready for the 50th anniversary celebration, the tonic we’ve needed since the start of the pandemic!
Photo: Disney
