Magic Kingdom – July 27, 2020

Full disclosure: Christy and I made a day trip to the Magic Kingdom on July 27th. We were staying at a cottage in Indian Rocks Beach, FL so we could just soak up some beach time and feel more relaxed. We initially planned on staying on property but the thought of putting on a mask every time we stepped out of our room didn’t enthuse us. We’re not ones that vehemently protest mask wearing like a few do and we don’t fully agree with the mask protocols either, but when it’s required, we don the masks. Simple as that. Also, as many of you know, Christy is pregnant, and just entered her 3rd trimester. We caught a little flak for even leaving home, let alone the state and going to Florida and Disney World. A few family and friends acted like it was a death sentence. We didn’t appreciate that. We needed – almost desperately – to get away. We played our outings smartly and safely and I’m happy to say we enjoyed our vacation!

But what’s it like going to Magic Kingdom with the limited capacity, masking, physical distancing, heat, and with a pregnant wife? It was…fine. Just fine. It wasn’t great. It wasn’t spectacular. It wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t overly depressing. It was fine. That said, “fine” is only suitable, in our opinion, for the regular Disney traveler who probably has a DVC membership and/or Annual Pass. I would NOT recommend paying for a full-price ticket to visit WDW theme parks under the present circumstances. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to first-timers, but that’s just my 2 cents.

The heat was normal for this time of year. Bearable. We’re used to it.

Christy being pregnant meant we took our time. We obviously skipped attractions that pregnant women are not recommended to ride (well I did two of them without Christy anyway – Big Thunder and Space Mountains ). Christy fared well as we alternated rides with shows and sitting down for a meal or snack.

The mask requirements are not insignificant. I would say this was the most obvious draw back to our trip. They do have “rest areas” where you can remove your mask. And you can remove your mask when stationary and actively eating and drinking, but still it just gets uncomfortable and not seeing full faces was a bit depressing after a while. Truly I believe if this downside were removed from the equation, it would’ve been a FAR more enjoyable trip. I still wouldn’t recommend to first-timers, but at least the removal of the discomfort would better justify the price tag. That said, I fully realize WHY the mask rule is in place and think Disney has made the wise, but difficult choice to use them in our situation.

The physical distancing to me was really an upside with the limited capacity of the park. I didn’t mind not being crowded in all the time. Markers on the ground tell you where to wait to keep distance in queues. Barriers were added to some switchbacks in the queues. Usually 2 row spacing was employed between parties on ride vehicles which Disney cast members followed with incomparable efficiency. The only thing they haven’t figured out how to do is maintain the physical distancing when a downpour crops up and everyone without rain gear crams in under canopies and roofs throughout the park. So if you’re visiting the parks in the near future. Bring rain gear so you can keep that physical distance (and enjoy many attractions with 0 minute waits).

The capacity limitations brought crowds and waits down to well below Great Recession levels. During the great recession I recall the average wait for most attractions being 20 minutes. Under current conditions, the maximum wait we experienced was 20 minutes (Peter Pan’s Flight). Most attractions were walk-on to 5 minutes of actual wait time. Most attractions and shows were open. We saw several short parades during the day. About half of the restaurants (Counter and Table service) were open along with about half of the stores. For the first time, Magic Kingdom was actually a 1-day park. We saw everything we wanted to see with time to spare. If catching the virus is of particular concern for you, I would say a trip to the Magic Kingdom was about as risky as a trip to an active, but not crowded grocery store.

All-in-all, it’s definitely different, but so is a visit with friends these days. To that end, visiting the Magic Kingdom was a lot like visiting a good friend during the pandemic. It’s different. We don’t like the differences in large part, but it was still nice to be there. It was nice enough that we visited Epcot on July 31st, but that’s for a later thread.