Disney Park Changes Still in Place in 2021
Did you visit Walt Disney World during 2020? If not, you may not know many of the park changes that could impact your next trip.
Here are ten pandemic-related changes still in place for Disney trips in 2021.
Magical Express
The good news at the start of your Disney trip is that you can still use Magical Express this year!
Disney maintains the station at Orlando International Airport. However, you should know about one significant change.
Due to Coronavirus-related issues, Disney won’t transport your bags right now.
Instead, you will be responsible for your own luggage. You must pick it up at baggage claims and then take it to the Magical Express station yourself.
Also, Disney has announced that Magical Express will end in 2022. So, this year represents your last opportunity to take advantage of Magical Express!
Hotel Lobby Check-In Discouraged
This step would have happened eventually anyway. Disney would prefer guests to utilize technology rather than employees whenever possible.
As of now, when you enter a Disney resort lobby, you’ll notice signs requesting that you check-in via the My Disney Experience app.
This process takes virtually no time and saves you the aggravation of talking to someone anyway.
Plus, you avoid a needless personal interaction, thereby protecting your safety during the pandemic.
FastPasses Not in Use
This subject has proven divisive.
When Walt Disney World reopened last July, park officials chose not to offer Fastpasses.
Disney’s thought process came down to crowd control. With capacity limits in place, strategists didn’t see the point in offering a virtual queuing system.
Some guests love this turn of events while others (including me) lament the fact that we cannot jump on a ride whenever we want thanks to FastPasses.
Wherever you stand on the subject, please be aware that you won’t have FastPasses as an option during 2021 visits.
Disney has suggested they’re gone for good. However, I suspect that the company is laying the groundwork for a MaxPass system instead.
Park Capacity Limits
At the start, Disney limited capacity to 25 percent. For the holidays, the parks upped their limit to 35 percent.
That may not sound like much, but it’s actually a 40 percent increase. The company probably isn’t done, either.
As long as Florida controls its outbreak numbers, Disney will likely add more capacity in the coming days and weeks.
In fact, some insiders suggest this already happened at the start of 2021, although the company hasn’t confirmed that yet.
Temperature Checks
Yes, you still must take a temperature test before you can enter a theme park.
No, you won’t mind the process. You’ll stand in a line for no more than five minutes, awaiting your turn.
The scan itself only takes a second, and then the cast member will send you to the security section.
The only potential snag would involve your having a high temperature that day, and Disney has steps to help you with that if you’re sure you’re not sick.
Face Covering Requirements
Yes, you must still wear a mask. No, it won’t kill you to wear one.
As someone with tons of allergies, I was shocked to discover that I coughed and sneezed less during a recent Disney visit.
This happened because the mask kept dust and other elements out of my face. So, I’m someone who happily wears a mask when I go outside.
For your protection as well as the safety of others, you should do so, too.
Transportation Changes
Disney has modified several elements of park transportation.
Buses now limit capacity the same way that the parks do.
You’ll never sit beside a stranger during the pandemic. So, that’s one less thing to worry about.
However, buses reach capacity much faster than usual due to this social distancing tactic.
You may need to wait a time or two before you find a seat on a bus.
Friendship Boats are back in operation in 2021.
Thankfully, you’ll find plexiglass barriers between the seats on many of them, thereby protecting you.
The same is true with monorails. You’ll find protection between the seats. Disney still isn’t operating the EPCOT monorail line right now, though.
Please make other plans to avoid any potential issues.
Park Passes
Disney introduced this system when its parks reopened. You can think of Park Passes as a kind of park headcount.
With Park Passes, Disney knows whether its parks will have enough space to host guests safely.
For you, a Park Pass is a necessity. You cannot enter a park on a given day without one. Yes, that applies to post-2 p.m. Park Hopping, too.
Disney only allows Park Hopping for people with Park Passes. You also must enter the place where you have a Park Pass before you may Park Hop.
Cavalcades
I give park officials a ton of credit for one of their Big Ideas during the pandemic.
Everyone involved knew that Disney parks couldn’t host parades during the pandemic.
So, Disney got creative. The company took some of the floats from the parades and turned them into standalone events.
Now, when you wander through Magic Kingdom, you may hear parade music. It’s a signal that a Cavalcade is heading your way!
Cavalcades are the equivalent of small-scale parades. They’re unannounced cycles when a single float passes through a themed land.
Disney has also added cars and boats as potential Cavalcades, thereby ensuring that every theme park puts its own particular spin on the premise.
No Fireworks Shows
Yeah, there’s no way to sugarcoat it. For the time being, Disney still doesn’t offer any nighttime fireworks presentations, at least in the United States.
While the company has tested its fireworks technology at least twice, the status quo remains on this subject.
Disney has positioned one of its barges for the upcoming EPCOT show, Harmonious. Since there are reportedly only five barges, that’s a big step.
Alas, I cannot promise that the situation will change during the first half of the year.
On the plus side, Disney has added fireworks shows to its hotel room cable service.
I cannot guarantee this fact, but it’s possible you can watch a prerecorded show from your room, the next best thing to the real thing.
You also get to go to bed quicker when you watch from your hotel room.
Okay, that’s a lot of changes, but they’re all understandable. Many of them improve the overall park experience, too.
Disney really is doing a remarkable job in the face of challenging circumstances.
Feature Image Rights: Matt Stroshane