Disney World Reopened 3 Years Ago Today — Here’s What’s Changed
Does anyone else feel like the past three years have actually lasted 10 years?!
Cinderella Castle
Three years ago today, Disney World began a phased reopening following the COVID-19 pandemic, and so much has changed in such a short period of time. Let’s go over everything!
Phased Reopening
Disney World closed its doors on March 12th, 2020, followed by a phased reopening beginning July 11th, 2020. First, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom reopened, with Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT joining them on July 15th.
You can watch a live recording of our visit to Magic Kingdom on July 11th, 2020 below!
Of course, things looked very different initially. We’re going over the changes we saw then and how some of them continue to affect the parks today.
Health & Safety Regulations
When Disney World first reopened, the health of guests was a major priority, and guests entering parks were required to undergo temperature checks, wear facial coverings/masks (indoors and out), and maintain social distancing.
Health & Safety Signage
Disney introduced partitions in many areas of the parks where guests would be in close quarters, and not all restaurants, attractions, hotels, or stores reopened at first.
Some stores still remained closed, with Cast Members citing inventory or staffing issues.
(Kent Phillips, photographer)
Social distancing floor markers managed crowds in lines, keeping groups together but still maintaining distance from others.
Most of these markers have been removed around the parks, although you can still find them in some areas!
Social Distancing floor markers
Now, three years later, after slowly phasing out these health and safety regulations, they are mostly a thing of the past.
Park Reservations & Park Hopping
In an effort to keep attendance low and under control, Disney introduced the Park Reservation system, which requires guests to make daily reservations to enter a park.
Park Hopping was also suspended initially and later reintroduced so that guests could begin Park Hopping at 2PM.
Park Reservation Sign
Park Passes are still required for visitors in 2023, although they will no longer be required for date-based tickets beginning on January 9th, 2024.
Annual Passholders are now able to visit parks without a reservation after 2PM on select weekdays, and in 2024 “Good-to-Go Days” will introduce more days passholders (and Cast Members) can visit the parks with no park pass required.
Annual Pass
Park Hopping is still limited to 2PM and later, even after park reservation requirements are dropped for date-based tickets.
Restaurants & Dining
Almost all restaurants have officially reopened, with just a few still remaining closed (we’re looking at you, 1900 Park Fare!).
Photo: Matt Stroshane
Some restaurants also received changes that have not yet been altered, such as the removal of quick service breakfast and lunch at Be Our Guest Restaurant in Magic Kingdom. Now, a prix fixe lunch and dinner are available.
Photo: Disney
Buffets initially did not open or were only offered as family-style dining, but they have since returned to Disney World at some locations, like Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom.
Crystal Palace
Character dining was also suspended at first and slowly re-introduced, with some characters returning to restaurants as recently as May 2023 at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in EPCOT.
Akershus
The Disney Dining Plan, a convenient program many guests preferred to use as a way to plan and budget for meals, disappeared until Disney announced its return after January 9th, 2024, with some changes.
If you look at the image below, you can check out the two different plans that will be offered in 2024, including a quick service or table service plan.
Disney Dining Plan
Entertainment
Some of the most obvious missing elements in Disney World during its initial reopening included the loss of live entertainment, such as character meet-and-greets, parades, fireworks, and nighttime shows. These features were slowly re-added to the parks in modified ways.
Animal Kingdom
When character interactions first resumed, they were changed to what Disney called “sightings,” where guests could take photos or selfies with a character from a distance, and no physical interaction such as hugs was allowed.
Photo: Disney
This changed in April 2022, when traditional character meet-and-greets returned, although some character sightings have still remained in place.
Live-action Ariel is a new meet-and-greet in Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
Ariel meet-and-greet
Parades were shortened to “cavalcades,” which were basically smaller parades with fewer floats and characters. However, parades pretty much returned to normal in March 2022 with the Festival of Fantasy Parade.
Adventure Friends Cavalcade
Fireworks shows, which typically involve large groups of people taking up space, eventually returned, and the popular Hollywood Studios nighttime show, Fantasmic!, just resumed performances in November 2022.
Fantasmic!
FastPass+ and Genie+
When Disney World reopened, all open attractions featured standby-only lines. FastPass+, the program that would allow guests entry through FastPass lanes, was suspended and later replaced by the new Genie+ program.
Disney Genie+
The swap from the free FastPass+ system to the paid Genie+ system was likely inevitable, but it was a big change nonetheless.
Now guests must pay for access to Genie+ daily, ranging in price from $15 and up, depending on the day. We’ve seen prices as high as $35 per person.
Lightning Lane
Annual Passes
During the phased reopening, Annual Passholders saw extended expiration dates, and although they were able to renew, they could not purchase new passes (except in extenuating circumstances).
In September of 2021, Disney rolled out a new Disney World Annual Passholder program with four new tiers. This change came with the removal of some past perks as well as new prices and blockout dates.
Annual Pass
After pausing Annual Pass sales, they are once again available for purchase.
Airport Transportation
And finally, if you know you know — and sadly, the Magical Express is no more. The free airport transportation system for Disney World hotel guests ended in January 2022, and now guests are responsible for finding their own ways to and from the airport.
Photo: Disney
A lot has changed in three years and we’re just scratching the surface of it here. Keep following MickeyBlog for more Disney news!
