Walt Disney World Halloween 2020 re-opening experiences by Dealing with Disney

My review from my latest Disney world experience.

This trip was definitely not one of my favorites!

Before you read all my cons.. .Keep in mind, I still enjoyed this trip.

The main point of this is to have proper expectation for your needs/stay.

If you go into a park without proper expectation, it can really throw your trip OFF!

We had some great moments. We had some rest spots - drinks - treats which were nice.

One amazing PLUS: The security checks are a breeze now! No lie.. their big concern are umbrellas and water bottles (metal ones) tend to set off the machines. They ask for those to be pulled out of back packs but all other items you can walk through with!

I loved still having the time to appreciate the little things in the park that we take for granted. The craftsmanship in all the art around the park/architecture , the plant life every where!

I will be honest, part of the reason was due to my own family! Hey, I always like to keep It real-in perspective we shall say.

It is also good to know, sometimes things just don’t happen as planned but to remember to pull the fun out of what it is. Retain the good memories!

My kids have been so blessed to have been to Disney countless times. They have the luxury to know the ideal time to be there and not also not be there.

It was so very hot during this recent trip. The heat and masks just pushed them over the edge where the experience options did NOT outweigh the costs..

They made sure to let me know this in so many ways; when are we going back, my feet hurt, do we have to, where do we HAVE to go next….

These are all things you definitely want to hear after dropping a wad of CASH for fun?!

They did love some parts which was great for those short bursts of happiness!

They loved Rise of the Resistance and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

I was so glad they were able to experience these new attractions and they were as well.

Even though the park capacity limit was not raised by Disney-currently they are still running at 25% capacity. However, they are getting more guests in which is hitting that capacity cap in some cases (mostly weekends).

This is mostly seen at Hollywood Studios. Any other normal day, this would be an optimal crowd level day! It would be like hitting the jackpot going on a low capacity park day!

Under the current park operating restrictions it is equivalent to a crowd level of 7/10 with 10 being max level.

They are still limiting how many guests are on each attraction, pausing the attractions for cleanings and of course the distancing really slows their operation capabilities down.

IMO:

They really can’t operate at a higher park guest capacity and keep these restrictions in place without causing extreme chaos. They have queues stretched so far out. Guests can’t find the starts of attractions queues.

Example: When visiting Animal Kingdom Expedition Everest queue starting point snaked all the way into Dinoland.

In other park areas- guest pathways were blocked to prevent foot traffic for ‘social distancing’ that could come near extended queues... now.. this can cause heavier foot traffic in other paths thus negating the whole point of ‘social distancing’.. Not to mention also creating longer paths in getting to point B from point A. When one is hot, tired and told to take the long route, you may not get the best or nicest response.

It seems their only concern of social distancing is within the queue—if you are just park touring, people tend to do what is natural. I have no problem with this. They herd together-brush against each other, walk past each other, weave through a crowd without thought or concern. It is in our social instincts to do this. The guests who have more concern with this tend to make sure to separate themselves more so but the majority of what I observed behaved as we always did. Just don’t look for too much logic when park touring.

Most attractions had a queue wait time of 30-90 minutes. Depending on the time of day and popularity. This is definitely higher than when the parks first opened but also less than average day of pre-covid.. It is good to keep this in perspective. I noticed different parks also trended wait times differently.

Hollywood studios wait times peaked first few hours of park opening. Many arrived early and went to the 3 most popular areas (SWGE, MMRR, TSL) therefore peaking wait times. I kept watch on these main attractions. Slowly the wait times tapered off and became more reasonable. Slinky Dog went From 220 min down to 70 minutes. It stayed around the 70 minute majority of day after the first 3 hours. This held true for most other attractions as well as far as the tapering/reduced wait times from initial rush.

Magic Kingdom I observed the first few hours had low wait times but they all slowly grew higher. They capped around midday ad pretty much stayed at same level from midday to rest of day.

I always watched the wait times to see what may be good to move around to in deciding next attraction to hit. Wait times are pretty much estimates now –they can vary. Most of the time they are accurate but don’t be surprised if much shorter or if longer than posted. I made a cognitive decision to just go with flow.. what will be will be.

next complaint:

So- some rides are getting plexiglass dividers or clear plastic panel dividers so that they can put more guests on an attraction vehicle each cycle. That sounds good but it takes SO much away from the actual attraction.

I have heard some complaints were view obstructions, more germs or increases claustrophobia. I will admit that I agree with all these things. Living with the Land has these sheets of clear plastic between each row and it really blocks your view. The plastic will reflect light basically obscuring views. Smudges also get on the plastic obscuring the view. It does give me an uncomfortable restrictive feeling when walking down a queue surrounded by plexiglass wall or even on an attraction with one. I do not like it. Kilimanjaro Safari has the plastic sheets which blocks views, Tower of Terror recently had glass added and now they are looking at adding it to Rise of the Resistance.

I can honestly say, I can’t see myself going back to the parks or these attractions under these restrictions.

I can appreciate their attempt to try to improve their operation logistics -I just don’t agree with them.

If you are still going, at least you have a good expectation with what to expect. As always, things keep changing so never hesitate to ask!

Next complaint:

Cast members, I want to respect you and I DOOOO appreciate you. I can completely see the pressure I am assuming you are under. You are probably getting it from your supervisors and from the guests.. It cannot be fun. I don’t want to complain about the service level but here I am.. There always was a spark with the cast-members and I feel that has been ripped away from them at no fault of their own.

I can only imagine the level of crap ( I will just say it bluntly) they are dealing with. Such simple things are just lost. Here is an example: I ordered two sides of fries with one kids meal and a single fry on another kids meal -all on the same order. The double fries had LESS fries than the single. Now, is this worth caring about? No.. in the grand scheme of things. We don’t need the fries. Here lies the problem; when I asked the cast-member, it was basically a shrug of the shoulders, proceeded to turn around and hope I would go away. I did go away. It was not important but it basically left the over all impression from that one experience along with MANY other experiences on same trip that they just don’t care and no effort will be made to handle any situation. Two other experiences were of more significance but way too long to type out. No one has time for that! Haha.. besides it is in the past where it can stay.

I just hope we get back to where we were and what made Disney DISNEY. Don’t be scare though to ask for what is right, what is needed and leave alone what is not as in all things.

SO -As I mentioned earlier my kids were not enjoying the most out of this trip. We did take notice and we left the parks earlier than originally planned and you know what, it all worked out.

We left early from Magic Kingdom and enjoyed rest at the resort along with pool time. We grabbed quick service for dinner from resort and ate it on our balcony.

We left early from EPCOT and headed to Disney Springs. We enjoyed dinner there. We went back to resort -again, enjoyed some downtime, pool and relaxing in room.

We were able to enjoy what we wanted we did what we wanted. It was not my ideal trip but I believe my kids were totally happy with how it played out. This is what matters is it not-ultimately?

My kids are getting older and have been plenty of times. I have to adapt future plans to match their growing phases for us to get the most out of our trips.

With that being said; no more hot travel times, Shorter park hours for our touring needs and more resort activities.

Options are the best thing about Disney after all. There is so much available to take advantage of to make the trip work best for your family’s needs.

March they will open the water parks. They have also now opened both mini golf locations. Hopefully their party events will open again as well!

Sorry to be negative. I truly feel one can have a great time -have realistic expectation, roll with changes, choose your park touring buddies wisely and make the most out of it!

Just Know before you go!!!