Walt Disney World's Reopening Plan

On 5/27/20 Walt Disney World’s reopening plan was presented to and approved by the Orange County Task Force, step one in the approval process. On 5/29/20 it was approved by the governor. Let’s look at the proposed plan.

Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom open to guests on Saturday, July 11, 2020. Epcot and Hollywood Studios open on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. There will be a new reservation system in place on DisneyWorld.com where guests will need a reservation for the specific date and park they want to visit. This reservation system will allow Disney to better control the number of guests in a park at the same time. Disney will be significantly reducing the guest capacity in this first phase of reopening.

What Will Be Different at Least in Phase One

Face coverings (masks) required for everyone ages 2+
Temperature and Health Screening before entering park
Increased cleaning and sanitizing, especially of high touch areas
Plexiglass to protect Cast Members
Increased hand washing and hand sanitizer stations throughout the park
Social distancing enforced throughout the parks, in stores, ride queues, on rides, in restaurants etc.
Increased mobile ordering capabilities via the My Disney Experience app
Urging guests to go cashless with charging to room via Magic Band, or using Apple Pay or Google Wallet.
No parades
No Fireworks or Nighttime Spectaculars
No Character Meet n Greets
Play Areas and Water Effects Closed
No Fastpasses
No Dining Plans
No Extra Magic Hours

Disney World’s Reopening Plan Means Changes in Dining, Fastpasses, Ticket Sales and More

At 9:44pm EDT on 5-28-2020 Disney informed the world that they were pausing all new reservations and ticket sales so that they can get the new reservation system in place. At that same time they announced that all existing dining and experience reservations have been canceled and all Fastpasses have been canceled.

The reasoning for these cancellations is so that Disney can start fresh with the new reservation system and make sure that park, resort, and restaurant capacity limits will be adhered to. Yes, it stinks if you got up early 180 days before your trip to make your dining reservations and now they are all gone. I’m sorry, I really do feel horrible for you. When dining reservations are available again there will only be a 60 day window instead of the 180 day window we are used to. To get your dining reservation you must have valid park admission AND have your park reservation for that day before you can make your Advanced Dining Reservation.

Walt Disney World’s reopening plan does not include Fastpasses. Disney says they will be using the Fastpass queues for additional social distancing. It may also be that with smaller crowds, wait times will be shorter and Fastpasses won’t be needed.

This is new territory for all of us. We travel agent’s heads have been spinning for days as we help our clients navigate these changes. I promise you all of the Destinations 2 Travel agents are working hard to help our clients make the best vacation choices for their families. If you want to visit in 2020, please Email me. You are going to want to use a travel professional from an Ear Marked agency to help you wade through these new vacation planning waters. My services are FREE to you.