Buckle up people and get yourself a drink and a snack.
UPDATE: I fully recognize that a lot of this will be null and void with the new mask regulations, but there are still MANY people that are continuing to wears masks so this post is staying status quo.
Navigating Disney with kids while Summer is approaching and you are two feet from the sun is hard. Navigating Disney with Toddlers while Summer is approaching and one of them has to be in a mask, is even harder. We live in Florida and are used to this heat year round and I have to say it was a lot harder than expected even for us.
I found that there were two types of families roaming around Disney during this time. The type that was a 100% fine with the rules and regulations and the families that were slightly grumpy and hot and were having a harder time holding it together (these parents I felt for a 100% and if it wasn't so frowned upon I would have offered a hug...or a margarita), there were also a lot of mask below the nose families, but honestly people stayed clear of them, and it wasn't that hard to do. Honestly, these families were a lot fewer than I thought would be there as I have watched a lot of Youtube livestreams so reality was a lot better than expectation which made the experience that much greater. Even though I stand by the fact that I am glad we waited the amount of time we did to visit the parks, that we have been fully vaxxed for weeks and that we gave time for others to be fully vaxxed too. However, I can understand why my friends with older kids decided to go sooner and felt a 100% fine in doing so. At the end of the day we felt A LOT safer than we thought we were going to.
First tip, do not let the lines scare you, they look incredibly long, but with the reservations that people have to make and the six-feet separation markers, the wait times are no where near what you expect and honestly are hugely shorter than they ever are without markers. Can we make #keepthereservations a thing?!
The second, but probably biggest tip I can give is to remember to be kind to other families. Remember that even with masks, facial expressions can say a lot. While we were on line for the Wedway, Danny refused to put on shoes, didn't want to be held, but wanted to be able to hang out with his sister, so I just put him on the ground. When I tell you the fuss that this mother made over it, but wouldn't say anything directly to me, it was infuriating. Her own partner/husband/whatever wouldn't even look at her because I was just staring waiting for the interaction and he knew it was coming. Finally I just asked her if there was an issue and let her know that if I was going to be admonished for my parenting at 40, I would call my mother. Here is when the partner looked like he wanted to become an ostrich and stick his head in the ground. Luckily by this time she looked embarassed and apologized and I kindly reminded her that we are all trying to enjoy the day and mothers should be supporting mothers and I walked away...well technically the line moved...but same theory.
With this exception of this and some photography blunders, families for the most part were really respectful, kept their distance and made sure to give other families a lot of berthing room. The only place I did not feel this strangely was Magic Kingdom (the passion for castle pictures is real for some). Families seemed to have a hard time adhering to the lines on the floor that give the six feet of space and literally tell you where to stand, people were jumping in front of other peoples pictures (have I talked about this enough yet?!), and tables that literally had "do not sit here" stickers on them to separate people, were being ignored (outdoors more than indoors). If you feel this is going to bother you in anyway and keep you from enjoying the experience of finally being back amongst the magic, I suggest making this the second park of your day and going when the sun goes down and you are less likely to be annoyed #yourewelcome. If none of this bothers you, it is a 100% fine. There were parts of the Magic Kingdom that were better than others and the lines for the rides were fantastic. The longest ride was the Wedway People Mover (It will never be the Tomorrowland Transit Authority...EVER) and that is because it is finally opened up after being closed FOREVER. Other than that, we waited no more than 30 minutes for a ride. Magic Kingdom was our last day and Mother's Day so it was nice not to feel that we had to overstay our welcome.
I had another friend tell me the same thing (that I ignored) that I am going to tell you, so that you can probably ignore me as well....it is really easy to avoid crowds. If you just want the experience of soaking everything in, taking a lot of pictures, snacking and people watching with a smattering of a few rides (not caring about cramming everything into one day), than you can do this comfortably and safely. Both myself and Hubs were genuinely surprised about this realization....not my friend who told this to me months ago.
However, I 100% would not be opposed to the reservations sticking around (#sorrynotsorry). When I tell you how incredibly easy it was to get on the monorail and the fact that you are no longer crammed in like sardines with less of a wait time then before is absolutely amazing and I will take the reservation system Every. Darn. Day and dont @ me. It is incredibly easy to check into the park. There are no lines whatsoever even when scanning your magicband, you breeze through bag check (FUN FACT:...make sure your umbrella is in your stroller and not in your baby bag or you will make the detector go off EVERY time and your bag will need to be checked EVERY time because of this), the lines for the bigger more popular rides barely exceeded an hour wait and even then they tended to be less than the estimated wait time. Mobile ordering food and not being allowed to secure a table until food is in hand makes it so families are guarenteed a table. This is because many of the tables are not able to be used for social distancing purposes. Food was made expeditiously and was pretty much ready upon arrival.
FYI: Pecos Bill has an AMAZING Fajita Platter...if I didn't have a small child sitting on my lap attacking every morsel on the plate, you would have gotten a picture.
Leading families to their tables also kept families from hovering of your table making you think that you have to rush so that they can have your seat, therefore allowing ample time for your toddler and husband to bring back a Dole Whip and enjoy it in the cool restaurant while you finish your meal because your two-year old ONLY will eat off of your plate even though he has the exact same thing as you...
EV and her best DoleWhip Eating Life
Both myself and the Hubs could not get over what an easy process everything was, which made the fact that it was hot, we had two toddlers and we hadn't been in the parks for over an year and had to renavigate everything for what seemed like the first time a smooth and might I say the most easy process we have ever had in the parks (other than going during the week or during non-peak times).
Yes, your littles above two have to be in masks and yes you will get very sweet constant reminders from Cast Members and some adults are complete jerks about this and in my opinion you shouldn't be coming to Disney if you cannot be kind to people that are doing their job (after all you should expect the same kindness doing your own job). However for the smaller littles I did find that depending on the park their was a little more leniency. Epcot and Hollywood Studios was one of these parks where I found that if EV needed a little bit longer of a break other than just for taking a sip of water, they let her have it. However, Cast Members were definitely on top of anyone that looked over the age of 5. Families took it as part of the rules, readjusted their kids masks, said thank you to the Cast Member and that was that. Animal Kingdom was definitely more on the stricter side as well the Magic Kingdom. Honestly, none of this bothered us. There were plenty of places to pull to the side to snack and drink, people tended to stay clear of one another and give plenty of space, and now you are allowed to take pictures socially distanced sans masks or with a Photopass Photographer, so if anything I think Disney has been really kind in making sure that the magic is coming back slowly and giving a lot of room for things to feel normal again.
For Florida the mornings were a smidge cooler, but by 11/12pm it was definitely VERY hot and I can say that kids who were wearing masks without an issue in this heat that are not from Florida are the real MVP's. Complete and utter rockstars. Do I think that once we are in the thick of Summer this is going to be very comfortable. Not. At. All. I recommend packing a lot of snacks, cold drinks in thermoses and giving your little plenty of rest breaks If you do not do that already. I suggest reviewing our DIAPER and DAY BAG posts and purchasing the fans. We had one for each kid, ourselves and had bought an extra (Commodore had lost one for a day and a half in our house lol) that our friends could use. Even if you seem fine, they may not be. I will be happy when we are staying on Dolphin property in June and we can do pool afternoons.
As mentioned we were staying with my best friend and his partner so we didn't have to worry about checking in or anything of the like. We ended up going the night before and it monsooned in typical Florida fashion, so we were happy to arrive safely and be able to be a little more liesurely getting up. Myself and Alex had to work the following morning so my best friend Mikey and the Hubs took the kids to the Riviera Resort's Topolino Terrace for the character breakfast. It was my husbands first indoor dining experience in a year and he was enthralled with how well done it was and that there was no one around them. Alex and I were not bitter or resentful at all (cue all the bitter and resentment). They sent tons of pictures and video and although the character breakfasts are not normally the Hubs bag, he stated that the food and the character interactions (for what they could be with social distancing) were excellent (kind of bitter that they enjoyed it so much lol).
By the time they got back, I was more than ready to get out the door (Alex was working past me) and hit my first park in over a year. I am thrilled that they have extended the festivals so that people can really enjoy them and Flower and Garden at Epcot is definitely a fave. Not having to stand in line for an extended amount of time while they checked the bag, stroller and everything else was amazing and there were absolutely no lines for the magicband entrance. We spent the day taking pictures and drinking and eating around the park. At the front of Spaceship Earth, characters do appear and pictures can be taken albeit different than before, but still really cute and just about as interactive as can be.
This was the first year where Danny really understood seeing the Fab Five and his facial expressions are everything. Honestly, we were so liesurely strolling around that we didn't even go on a ride and looking back I am kind of sad about it, but then I remember the drinks...
The blurred excitement in my best friends face behind the drink is my fave
Changing color light ice cubes make all drinks better in my opinion....
You can find this drink in Cava Del Tequila in Mexico...forewarning, it is a lot of fun, it is definitely a production and quite good, but also quite expensive for $20. I got all the good pics and video for the Gram', but I do not think it is repurchase good as they have plenty of amazing margaritas for a fraction of the cost. We do sample several of the flights during the Festival but the best bang for your buck drinks in our opinion are...
The full-sized beers in Germany (Hubs absolute fave), sake in Japan (which is only outside now as the bar is gone and my heart died a little as this is my favorite bar), and of course the infamous Rose & Crown which let me tell you...NOONE WAS IN (let that sink in...NO.ONE.)....don't believe me....(ask the dishes...couldn't help myself). We couldn't believe it and it was absolutely glorious...dear Rose &Crown...keep it this way forever, love Me! It was so nice not fighting for a space at the bar to order, where there is bound to be one asshole in the bunch and where my sneakers/sandals are inevitably sticking to the floor since drinks are being sloshed everywhere. Don't get me wrong, even if it was still like this we would go, but this was wayyyyyy better. Picture the gates of heaven opening up and angels singing when we just walked in to an open bar (but not literally) and where the lovely woman at the door directed us to a register that was open and ready for us. Drinks in our hands, in and out in maybe three minutes max and thats with the Husband's Guinness taking its time to settle.
EV's Dress: WhityDarlingDesign
Make note of the openness around them...
The lines for food were even shorter. The oysters from America were my personal fave. Kimmy from there was not my fave. This lovely individual inevitably told me that I couldn't tell an oyster from a crawfish and apparently being right was more important than anything to her. Dear Disney, I do not think Kimmy should be working with people....I highly suggest you put her working in a backroom or somewhere where she doesn't have to interact with guests as it doesn't appear to be her forte'...moving on...check out these glorious oysters and I absolutely adored these mini tabascos which I would have taken with me if my kids didn't know how to open up stuff and it wouldn't end up everywhere. The drink was a Bayou Chiller and I am not a fan of alcholic drinks (more of a wine and beer girl), but this was fabulous, gave me a nice buzz and tasted delightful and refreshing on this REALLY hot day.
There is actually a theme with all my favorite foods that included the Shrimp and Grits from in front of Test Track and Seared Scallops from Canada (mama loves her seafood). Super Hungry Dana means barely any food pictures because all I care about is getting said food into my belly.
If you need a place to veer off too In Epcot that is quite open, spacious and where you can just sit sans mask for a bit (I know restrictions have since been lowered, but some are still feeling their mask and that's cool too) with a cold drink no matter your poison, I suggest the area that is by the new Ratatouille ride behind Paris. First of all, it is super pretty back there, the restrooms are REALLY nice, and you have an awesome view of the Skyliner and the new Gasteau sign for the Ratatouille ride (unfortunately, there is no Gusteau restaurant...yet). The Commodore was a BIG fan of this spot...
plus there are some really fun picture spots that are not busy.
Orange Bird T-Shirt by the amazing and Greek (not bias at all): LakeBuenaVisitors
Another favorite part of the day was all the fun Magic Shot pictures that were taken by the glorious Photopass Photographers. There is something about the Photographers in Epcot that are something special. We never feel rushed with the picture and they always work to get really good shots so that you have something really special to treasure when you get home. I have said it a thousand times and it should be obvious by now, but I love pictures and they are my favorite type of souvenior which is why we have the Gold Pass Annual Pass which comes with the Memory Maker.
It was REALLY sunny!
I know what I said about Epcot Photopass Photographers, but Peter from the Animal Kingdom was top notch. First of all, I might be a little bias as he is pretty much from my hometown in Maine, but he went up and beyond to take the cutest pictures of the Hubs and I and did a little photoshoot of just EV (Commodore was passed out in the stroller). In addition, he proceeded to chase us down and rescan my magicband when he thought it hadn't scanned right. Literally followed us a good ways from where he was just to do this which I thought was up and beyond.
If you are just returning to the parks for the first time and are Disney frequenters, I highly suggest that you get acclimated to the parks and wearing a mask all day by doing easy things, such as munching around the festival, having a couple cocktails, taking pictures and reacclimating yourself to the "new normal" (for now) at Disney with maybe a few rides. If there have been really cute pictures that other influencers and families have been taking, I would make a note of them and replicate it. I literally had a list in my phone of our "must-do's" knowing everything else would be a bonus. The list had pictures that I wanted to take, food and drinks from Flower & Garden I wanted to try, and several rides with the kids I wanted to hit. I kept it really limited and doable so that the day could still move at a relaxed paced and we wouldn't feel rushed through the experience since it was our first time back and we wanted to enjoy it. Giving yourself time to acclimate and your kids time to acclimate in a mask while being in Disney will not make you feel forced to experience a typical day when in the reality it is not...it is hot and you are wearing a mask and it is going to be really easy to get really grumpy if you do not give yourself some grace. Plus capturing those "back for the first time in a long time" shots are going to be such a nice commemorative.
I had seen a photo of a little boy one in front of the castle and he was gazing up at it. In hindsight (and by hindsight I mean I thought about this while in the car ride home) I would have taken it from the backside where there was not a wall obstructing part of the castle, but it was just me and Commodore. Hubs was waiting in the line to take family pictures in front of the castle (it was Mother's Day and there was quite a line for the photopass photographer in front of the Walt and Mickey statue...IYKYK). Wrangling a almost two-year old and getting him to look forward while you lay in back of him trying to get a him gazing at the castle is not as easy as it looks (why didn't I think of bringing fruitsnacks). Well....there is always next time, but I am still loving this one...
Doing Hollywood Studios as our second park after Animal Kingdom (you have to go after 2pm and after you have checked into your first park reservation) was something incredible. We had never done the Runaway Railroad before (the world shut down right when it opened and it was a 20 minute wait at 4pm which was amazing considering what the line looks like). In addition, it was Danny's first real ride where we were not holding him (not counting the Safari at Animal Kingdom that morning). Just take a gander at the facial expressions below. We absolutely loved the ride and considering all the imagery and movement, he did amazing....he really is going to be my wild child. The ride was actually my biggest surprise as I loved it and it quickly has become one of my faves.
The most incredible moment of the day was the nearly empty Battu. Being the Star Wars nerds that we are, this was our favorite part as it was nearly empty and the sun hadn't even set yet. Hubs and the boys were even able to jump on Smugglers Run with it being a 20-minute wait and I was able to just let the kids just run around since a lot of Animal Kingdom (minus the gorilla preserve) was spent in a stroller. I have NEVER (unless it was night and the kids were already fast asleep) been able to get a picture in front of the tie fighter or the Millenium Falcon without people around and these are the shots we were able to get. Seriously Disney...do not be so quick with full capacity...reservations are quite lovely...
I am still in awe when we look at them.
Getting EV to hold out her hand without any explanation was A LOT of work
The Storm Trooper 'noculars were everything!
If you get the time, I would try to get the last timeslot for an Oga's Cantina reservation at Hollywood Studios. We are Star Wars super fans and this experience was incredible. A couple things to know;
This experience is only 45 minutes, so know that if your drinks exceed this time, they will get put in a to-go cup and you will be sent on your merry way.
If you get put at the bar and you have littles, you will get really tall high chairs (they were fantastic) so they can sit next to you (this might bother you, we loved it as there is plenty to look at at the bar and we like chatting with the bartenders).
You are hugely spread out from anyone else which made the experience even more fantastic and this is where I took advantage of having the kids Kindle with us as it was 7:30pm and they were kind of winding down so setting up the Kindle on the bar for them was perfection and allowed Hub and I to have a quasi-date.
There is no real food there (there are two kinds of off the grid charcuterie boards) and even the tapas are not of the usual kind (we love them, but your littles may not), so I suggest either mobile ordering for the kids to go and bringing it there with you or having snacks and drinks at the ready in your bag or else it will go downhill very quickly.
The greatest thing about having the last reservation and a cocktail to go is that the park is empty when you leave. There are just a few people who have gotten their light sabers and are now taking incredible pictures in front of the empty Millenium Falcon (it is so much fun to watch) and you are not really being rushed so you can liesurely walk around this area and just enjoy everything being empty and lit up as you walk out.
Honestly, our expectations were really low for this weekend and we were prepared to not be comfortable at all, end up getting a hotel room (so not to continue invading their space if we were not going to do the parks) and making it a pool day kind of weekend. In reality it actually ended up being a lot more at ease than expected. As mentioned, there were definitely areas that were a lot more open and we frequented those more than not and we just kept the kiddos close by as to not invade others spaces and to keep others from ours and it wasn't that hard to do. Of course as I am saying this I am watching the Disney restrictions get stripped away kind of fast if you ask me (although the masks outdoors is kind of a nice reprieve...dont @ me), but all in all if you have been questioning whether or not to take the plunge and need advice from someone who also took the restrictions and pandemic life VERY seriously, than I am here to tell you, we felt okay with our choices and how we navigated the weekend. With that being said, you and the safety of your family is top priority so you need to be comfortable with the decision as well and not just go off the opinions of others...especially ones that live here year round and have a lot more freedom when it comes to how we explore and stay at the parks. Basically I am saying....you do you.
コメント