What Has Changed at Walt Disney World Forever?

Okay, the pandemic is essentially over, thank God. We spit in its general vicinity and hope to never experience a situation like that again in our lifetimes.

Still, we must acknowledge the profound ramifications of that 15-month Hellscape on society, especially at Disney theme parks.

COVID-19 disrupted many aspects of business, with some of these changes irrevocable. The same is true at the parks we love.

So, what has changed at Disney forever? Read on to find out…

Buffet Service

Some of Walt Disney World’s most popular restaurants previously offered buffet meals.

Specifically, character meals generally involved guests serving themselves in between encounters with their Disney friends.

During 2020, the thought of buffets switched to anathema virtually overnight as viral videos showed the dangers of high-touch utensils.

Recent reports have indicated that some cruises plan to bring back buffets, albeit with changes. An employee will now do all the food retrieval for you.

At Disney restaurants, family-style meals have universally replaced buffets.

Now, servers bring giant bowls and plates of food to your table for you to eat to your heart’s content.

The bowls are bottomless, as you can ask for unlimited refills. So, it’s really just a safer buffet.

That change appears permanent, as even Chef Mickey’s and Hollywood & Vine perform service this way.

FastPasses

I will be a bit vague here as we still don’t know what Disney plans for the next generation of FastPasses.

Still, we do know what has changed due to a year of Disney parks not using FastPasses.

For some, absence has made the heart grow fonder. We desperately miss the shorter side of the line queue.

For others, Disney parks have worked just fine without FastPasses, causing many to state that it’s unnecessary tech.

So, our perception of FastPasses has changed during the pandemic, just not in a way that we all agree.

Hotel Check-In

I’m not saying you’re old, just that you remember a part of the hotel check-in process that your kids will not.

Back in your day, you walked into the hotel lobby and immediately looked for the sign for the check-in desk.

Then, you approached a friendly cast member and asked for a room key, along with some guidance about how to get to your hotel room.

You’re a dinosaur. If it helps any, so am I. Back in the day, I worked in the hotel industry and communicated with hotel desk clerks all the time.

Well, Disney doesn’t want future generations to jump through those hoops, and the pandemic escalated the change to new ways.

You’ll check in online via My Disney Experience. Then, you’ll receive a notification once your room is ready.

You can receive this message via text, email, or both. Once you have it, you can head straight to your room, skipping the front desk entirely.

Your smartphone will even unlock the hotel room door if you’re not using a MagicBand.

In other words, personal interactions are no longer necessary for hotel check-ins. Everything is automatic!

Magical Express

I can hear the boos and hisses as you realize what’s coming next. For what it’s worth, I’m on your side.

Still, Disney underwent numerous epiphanies during the pandemic. One of them involved transportation to and from the airport.

Park officials recognized that they relied too much on a third-party entity, Mears Transportation Group.

That company performed numerous layoffs at the start of the global shutdown. When Walt Disney World reopened last July, Disney felt stuck.

Magical Express options weren’t robust due to the sheer volume of bus drivers that Mears had laid off.

Eventually, Disney decided that the aggravation of Magical Express didn’t match the value.

Simultaneously, Disney has planned for the future by bringing a Brightline high-speed train station to Disney Springs.

That’s how Disney will expect guests to travel from the airport to the parks from now on.

Call me too optimistic if you must, but I still think Disney might introduce a Magical Express replacement, just not anything with Mears.

Maid Service

Here’s a quirky one you may not have considered. Disney recently drew the ire of some Disney Vacation Club members for a decision.

Program participants may no longer pay extra for daily housekeeping services. Can you guess the reason why?

During the past year, Disney has enforced stringent sanitary practices for its hotel rooms. Maids even clean the remote controls and then place them in plastic bags!

Meanwhile, many cast members got laid off at the start of the pandemic. So, maid services have remained short-staffed for more than a year.

Simultaneously, some guests will never forget all the disgusting things they learned about hygiene during the pandemic.

All the videos showing the spread of germs aren’t things that you can just forget.

For these reasons, maid services at Disney have changed forever. The rooms must be more sanitary, a challenge given that Disney keeps fewer maids on staff.

Still, the overall trend toward exponentially more sanitary rooms represents a substantial positive for vacationers!

Meal Ordering

I’m not exaggerating when I state that you’ll never order a meal the same way again, at least at Walt Disney World.

Before the pandemic, Disney had already introduced Mobile Ordering, but its status changed during 2020.

When the parks reopened, cast members asked guests to place their orders using My Disney Experience.

Anyone refusing to do so couldn’t get a table at a Disney restaurant. Cast members would physically block them from doing so until they proved they had an order ready.

Remarkably, that was even the only dramatic change at the parks. Some Table Service restaurants added to-go meals as an option for the first time.

The program, entitled Table Service to Go, allows guests to order an haute cuisine meal and take it back to the hotel. It’s like room service you pick up.

Of course, you can eat your meal anywhere, but the appeal lies with those staying at resorts offering the service.

You can place an order before you reach the hotel. Then, you’ll have a hot and delicious meal ready at your arrival.

Many guests, myself included, had clamored for this option since the introduction of Mobile Ordering. Now, it’s here to stay.

That’s not even the only new restaurant amenity. Disney also added Mobile Dine Walk-up Waitlist, a service that helps when you don’t have a reservation.

You can check your favorite restaurants to see whether they’re allowing walk-ins at the time. If they are, you add your name to the waitlist.

This method allows restaurants to maximize revenue thanks to full tables throughout the day. And it helps guests who don’t like to plan as much.

You can play your Disney trip by ear, picking your meals based on what’s available instead! This change is win/win!

Park Admission (Park Passes)

Here’s a quick one that seemed temporary at first. At the start of Walt Disney World’s reopening, park officials required customers to jump through a new hoop.

We must book a Park Pass for the place we intend to visit on a given day. Even guests who plan to Park Hop may only do so after acquiring a Park Pass.

Disney later surprised customers by confirming that Park Passes are here to stay.

Park officials like the certainty that comes from guests declaring where they will spend the first half of the day.

Disney may utilize this information to staff the parks more efficiently and also accurately anticipate revenue.

So, this style of micro-management is apparently at least semi-permanent.

Phone Reliance

Here’s a hot button topic that I know old-school Disney fans feel strongly about. Alas, you’re losing the popular vote on this one.

Disney theme parks have leaned hard into the smartphone trend. I’ve already listed two examples, and they’re really just the tip of the iceberg.

Basically, one out of every two human beings owns a smartphone, with the overwhelming majority of people using them daily.

A decade ago, Disney didn’t fully anticipate the ubiquity of smartphones, focusing instead on wearable tech as the most convenient item for guests.

As you know, Disney has phased out MagicBands recently, a tacit acknowledgement that most people prefer their phones.

So, you can use My Disney Experience to get directions, enter the parks, order food, unlock your hotel room door, and pay for merchandise.

At this point, your smartphone doubles as your wallet. Disney’s modified tech trends reflect this fact.

Security Methods

Have you walked through a theme park security scanner lately? If so, you know the deal here.

Most park entrances utilize a new method for bag checks, one that’s familiar to frequent flyers.

You just walk through the scanner. It doesn’t care whether you’ve got a backpack, a purse, or any other bulky item.

The system can identify whether you’re bringing illicit goods into the park anyway. Disney has proved this with some recent statistics.

More guests than ever before got caught trying to bring firearms into theme parks during the pandemic. 

Armed at Disney World: More tourists caught with concealed guns during pandemic https://t.co/vmjA5bBOhL pic.twitter.com/imL58J7igZ

— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) June 15, 2021

The updated security protocols work more effectively in identifying risks. As such, they’re here to stay and likely to improve even more in the coming years.

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