Phew, we are back! We had a great time but I am pretty exhausted. The parks are so much larger so the amount of walking was rough on me after months of working from home and with my neuropathy. I should have trained for it because it wiped me out! I was pretty close to renting a
scooter at the end but toughed it out. One day I’ll accept my limitations but not this day!
We stayed at the Caribbean Resort Hotel which I loved. Being the main hub on the Skyliner is a big perk- I felt sorry for all the people arriving from the other hotels that had to go to the back of the line. The pool was wonderful, we enjoyed it a lot. The grounds were so big... again, so much walking. Next time I’ll pay for a preferred room to be closer. I kicked myself everyday for not doing that!
We did six park days: one at AK and Epcot, two at MK and HS. My takeaways in general about all of it.. the good and the bad:
- The airports (DIA and MCO) had NO physical distancing but okay-ish mask compliance. The airline (United) stuffed us in the plane like sardines- all seats were filled on both flights. Right off the bat my crowd anxiety bandaid was ripped off in the Denver airport. No one gave us space in security, on the train, the escalators, anywhere.
- Magic Kingdom was the most crowded and had the worst mask compliance. The biggest two bottleneck areas seemed to be Adventureland and Fantasyland by Peter Pan. I consistently had people bumping into us it was so packed in walkways at times. So that’s a bit FYI for anyone feeling hesitant. Physical space is not guaranteed and at times you just have no choice but to deal if you don’t want to leave.
- MK was the only park I saw a few people taking masks off during rides. This was also the park where I had a family right in my backpocket in line and when I told them nicely to stay in their sticker they told me to “go home if you’re so scared.” So that was a memorable moment, oof! Every other park the mask compliance was perfect that I saw. Our Monday at MK was the worst with Thursday being much better- I’d avoid weekends and Mondays. It was night and day difference on crowds there.
- Distancing in queues and restaurants was great. Problem areas are shops and walkways but don’t see how much Disney can do about that. I think people just forget. It definitely didn’t feel like an empty park, those days are definitely gone but I felt fairly comfortable most of the time. But I also feel like I should mention that I am definitely getting a covid test regardless- the risk is there.
- Animal Kingdom was amazing. We had the perfect day! We rode everything multiple times and usually had plenty of distance (aside from a few bottlenecks here snd there) from others. I loved Pandora. And Everest! And Dinosaur! We loved it all, I wish we had done two days we loved it so much.
- Don’t eat the few churros offered- they’re a travesty.
- Food in general was disappointing. Nothing that stood out as amazing. Be Our Guest had amazing atmosphere so even if my picky vegetarian self didn’t like the food, that was my favorite. They let me exchange my weird vegetable broth for a mac and cheese style adult kids meal so how’s that for having the palette of a 10 year old. I’d say this restaurant is a must. Sci-Fi at HS was also really cool, my son loved it. Food was okay but everything there for vegetarians is now all Impossible burgers which I hate (I don’t like the taste of meat so not a fan of these) but that might be a “me” problem.
- At Magic Kingdom I thought Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise and Splash were better- so many extra scenes. Pirates offended me because it was so short! After we got off we were like ‘where’s the rest of it?!’ I didn’t care for their version of Space Mountain- the ride cars are like the Matterhorn bobsleds! My back will never be the same lol. Also missed the music- felt kinda weird being able to hear everyone else so easily.
- Masks were easy to get used to- only became difficult in the hot sun. My son did better than me- I was the one whining for a relaxation station, not him. Kids are tougher than us oldies.
- Got on Rise of the Resistance both days with no issues- follow the board in the WDW page for tips if you’re going, it’s a big help. Same with the ‘here and back’ board. I could go on for days and how amazing that ride was! Highlight of the trip.
- We made sure to arrive as early as possible each day and that made a huge difference. We had ridden both rides in Pandora and the park had only ‘officially’ been open 15 mins when we got off Flight of Passage. Which was amazing.
- Pictures with masks are a bummer, didn’t do as much photopass as we usually do. I did make a point to do a selfie with the kiddo each time we were eating/drinking/etc. so we have a few good mask free photos. Featuring dole whips, blue milk and pretzels!
Feel free to ask me anything I might have left out, there’s so much to say! I want to go back and just spend a week at Animal Kingdom! So much fun. Epcot was good too but with all the closed shops and construction the experience felt a bit impacted there more so than at the other parks. Overall, I felt like the magic was there. I don’t regret going and it definitely helped charge my mental health batteries. But if you’re on the fence because of risk, you should be prepared for the reality that while masks are being used nearly 100% of the time, physical distancing isn’t always possible.