With Disney World mask free, does it feel like everything is normal again?

[Disstevefan1]

Okay, so the food thing isn't a big issue with me. We mostly bring some food in with us and if we eat something else we just buy it at a concession stand. No big deal. But what do you mean by staying at the "left of the castle" all day? By choice? Or just the crowds?

I would hate to go back, pay all of that money, and not get the pre-2020 Disney experience. That would suck. I just don't get it to be honest. In Canada things are still wacky, but even last summer if the carnival/fair was in town it was normal and everyone acted normal, no masks, etc. Ditto with a water park. Line ups, no masks, nothing out of the ordinary. Why hasn't Disney hit that yet, especially in Florida?

One thing is for sure, the pre-2020 MOBS are back!
It looks like the pre-2020 staffing is NOT back, the sad part is, this is probably by design

 

[Goofyernmost]

One thing is for sure, the pre-2020 MOBS are back!
It looks like the pre-2020 staffing is NOT back, the sad part is, this is probably by design

Don't go exclusively by this time of the year, a whole lot of schools are closed for mid-winter break. It's the long haul that has to be paid attention too.

 

[Pardonmyfrench]

I just came back from a quick trip last night. COVID is definitely "gone" with the exception of buses and monorails. It is starting to feel normal again. Still no character greetings but I bet that will change soon. We are definitely getting there. The crowds are enormous but I think that's due to international travelers and others finally returning.

 

[tpoly88]

One thing is for sure, the pre-2020 MOBS are back!
It looks like the pre-2020 staffing is NOT back, the sad part is, this is probably by design

i think they found out they could cut the staff way back and people still come. i hope they bring back more of the Staff as the current cast members are stretched thin and stressed out, you can tell by their demeanor. I think the no masks will help them a little but not as much as more workers.

 

[Texas84]

Park reservations will most likely stay.

 

[KaliSplash]

Mickey is not going back to pre-pandemic. They have learned they can cut costs sharply and increase prices for everything just the way they are. As pointed out above. This IS the new normal.

 

[Robbiem]

Do people that have visited feel that its back to some form of normal for them?

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Mickey is not going back to pre-pandemic. They have learned they can cut costs sharply and increase prices for everything just the way they are. As pointed out above. This IS the new normal.

i think they found out they could cut the staff way back and people still come. i hope they bring back more of the Staff as the current cast members are stretched thin and stressed out, you can tell by their demeanor. I think the no masks will help them a little but not as much as more workers.

One thing that always separated Disney from everything else was the staff. It wasn't even close anywhere else. I do think that is irritating that prices went up, but staffing stayed down. I am guessing maybe with a keen eye you notice this more. The thing with Disney was that there was always a staff member everywhere. All friendly too. They always emphasized the "Be Our Guest" type of experience. I can live without Fastpass, because the last trip we did the opposite of what everyone else was doing and did everything in MK. When everyone else is staring at their phone and saying "Oh, the line up is 30 minutes for Peter Pan!" I was walking the opposite way utilizing my time better. For instance, hitting the spots at the right time. If we went by the Tiki Room and the show was coming in 5 minutes you stand in line for that. Stuff like that. I did a similar thing at Universal in 2018. We hit all of the big stuff twice, part of it being we walked straight to the back of the park and did those things first. No one does that, this is actually something that worked in 1970 as well as 2018. Probably still. Rode Kong twice, walked onto it as well. Walked onto Jurassic, Potter, Spiderman, etc. So you can do the same with MK. Hit Tomorrowland at the end of the night, it works out well. Anyway, so I think I can combat the crowds.

Hopefully I wouldn't notice the staff shortage as much. Maybe it is one of those things where we nitpick on this forum because we notice the smaller things? I don't know, I guess I will have to find out. I am irritated in Splash Mountain being gone. I think the whole movement in 2020 with the protests in the U.S. at the time was sort of thought of as an opportunity for Disney to replace it. My guess is that this was a very expensive ride to operate with the animatronics and the whole idea that the ride is from the Song of the South was just window dressing as the reason. The true reason I think was cost. So that bugs me.

I just came back from a quick trip last night. COVID is definitely "gone" with the exception of buses and monorails. It is starting to feel normal again. Still no character greetings but I bet that will change soon. We are definitely getting there. The crowds are enormous but I think that's due to international travelers and others finally returning.

Again, the character greetings I am fine with either way. I got irritated that Snow White was taken out years ago for one of those. I am not sure why you wear a mask in monorails though. You can sit in a theatre with no mask on but a monorail you can't? And then stand in line with each other. I am guessing that fades away long before we get there in the summer. Besides, we usually take the ferry both ways to get to MK. I have been told people aren't wearing the masks much anyway on the transportation and it isn't really enforced. Someone last month who came back from Disney said this at least.

All I can do is try. Each time I think I have grown out of Disney I end up loving it even more with each time coming back. I'll try, that is if the border issue in Canada/U.S. can ever get fixed and they don't have restrictions on people coming in and out of the country. Something I am hoping is long gone by the summer.

 

[Lilofan]

One thing that always separated Disney from everything else was the staff. It wasn't even close anywhere else. I do think that is irritating that prices went up, but staffing stayed down. I am guessing maybe with a keen eye you notice this more. The thing with Disney was that there was always a staff member everywhere. All friendly too. They always emphasized the "Be Our Guest" type of experience. I can live without Fastpass, because the last trip we did the opposite of what everyone else was doing and did everything in MK. When everyone else is staring at their phone and saying "Oh, the line up is 30 minutes for Peter Pan!" I was walking the opposite way utilizing my time better. For instance, hitting the spots at the right time. If we went by the Tiki Room and the show was coming in 5 minutes you stand in line for that. Stuff like that. I did a similar thing at Universal in 2018. We hit all of the big stuff twice, part of it being we walked straight to the back of the park and did those things first. No one does that, this is actually something that worked in 1970 as well as 2018. Probably still. Rode Kong twice, walked onto it as well. Walked onto Jurassic, Potter, Spiderman, etc. So you can do the same with MK. Hit Tomorrowland at the end of the night, it works out well. Anyway, so I think I can combat the crowds.

Hopefully I wouldn't notice the staff shortage as much. Maybe it is one of those things where we nitpick on this forum because we notice the smaller things? I don't know, I guess I will have to find out. I am irritated in Splash Mountain being gone. I think the whole movement in 2020 with the protests in the U.S. at the time was sort of thought of as an opportunity for Disney to replace it. My guess is that this was a very expensive ride to operate with the animatronics and the whole idea that the ride is from the Song of the South was just window dressing as the reason. The true reason I think was cost. So that bugs me.



Again, the character greetings I am fine with either way. I got irritated that Snow White was taken out years ago for one of those. I am not sure why you wear a mask in monorails though. You can sit in a theatre with no mask on but a monorail you can't? And then stand in line with each other. I am guessing that fades away long before we get there in the summer. Besides, we usually take the ferry both ways to get to MK. I have been told people aren't wearing the masks much anyway on the transportation and it isn't really enforced. Someone last month who came back from Disney said this at least.

All I can do is try. Each time I think I have grown out of Disney I end up loving it even more with each time coming back. I'll try, that is if the border issue in Canada/U.S. can ever get fixed and they don't have restrictions on people coming in and out of the country. Something I am hoping is long gone by the summer.

I think the far from normal is not all merchandise locations are open for business. One can speculate supply chain issues ( that's nationwide also ), lack of staffing but it is something not even much of an issue pre covid. One has money but trying to find a place open for business , not just WDW, to spend one's cash is a new concept.

 

[danlb_2000]

One thing that always separated Disney from everything else was the staff. It wasn't even close anywhere else. I do think that is irritating that prices went up, but staffing stayed down. I am guessing maybe with a keen eye you notice this more. The thing with Disney was that there was always a staff member everywhere. All friendly too. They always emphasized the "Be Our Guest" type of experience. I can live without Fastpass, because the last trip we did the opposite of what everyone else was doing and did everything in MK. When everyone else is staring at their phone and saying "Oh, the line up is 30 minutes for Peter Pan!" I was walking the opposite way utilizing my time better. For instance, hitting the spots at the right time. If we went by the Tiki Room and the show was coming in 5 minutes you stand in line for that. Stuff like that. I did a similar thing at Universal in 2018. We hit all of the big stuff twice, part of it being we walked straight to the back of the park and did those things first. No one does that, this is actually something that worked in 1970 as well as 2018. Probably still. Rode Kong twice, walked onto it as well. Walked onto Jurassic, Potter, Spiderman, etc. So you can do the same with MK. Hit Tomorrowland at the end of the night, it works out well. Anyway, so I think I can combat the crowds.

Hopefully I wouldn't notice the staff shortage as much. Maybe it is one of those things where we nitpick on this forum because we notice the smaller things? I don't know, I guess I will have to find out. I am irritated in Splash Mountain being gone. I think the whole movement in 2020 with the protests in the U.S. at the time was sort of thought of as an opportunity for Disney to replace it. My guess is that this was a very expensive ride to operate with the animatronics and the whole idea that the ride is from the Song of the South was just window dressing as the reason. The true reason I think was cost. So that bugs me.



Again, the character greetings I am fine with either way. I got irritated that Snow White was taken out years ago for one of those. I am not sure why you wear a mask in monorails though. You can sit in a theatre with no mask on but a monorail you can't? And then stand in line with each other. I am guessing that fades away long before we get there in the summer. Besides, we usually take the ferry both ways to get to MK. I have been told people aren't wearing the masks much anyway on the transportation and it isn't really enforced. Someone last month who came back from Disney said this at least.

All I can do is try. Each time I think I have grown out of Disney I end up loving it even more with each time coming back. I'll try, that is if the border issue in Canada/U.S. can ever get fixed and they don't have restrictions on people coming in and out of the country. Something I am hoping is long gone by the summer.

Splash Mountain hasn't changed and is still open. There has been no recent word as to when or even if the Tianna refresh will happen.

Based on the things I have heard and seen, I wouldn't count on being to walk onto rides at Disney.

 

[Married5Times]

Stricter policies on early and late arrivals plus stricter policy on rider switches

please elaborate, if you can, about the changes in rider switching policies. We are talking about ---to say it crudely__ "baby swap", right?

 

[JusticeDisney]

We were there last summer during the relatively brief time when masks were not required anywhere (other than on transportation) and things felt refreshingly ”normal.”

 

[Texas84]

I did two trips where masks were required everywhere, indoors and out. First trip was a nightmare. I spent most of my time in the room. Second trip was better because of cooler weather, but I still had to stop and take frequent water breaks to get the mask off. Last trip was masks indoors only so I'm really looking forward to the next trip in March. But each trip seemed a small step toward normal.

 

[Sbk1234]

I am not sure why you wear a mask in monorails though. You can sit in a theatre with no mask on but a monorail you can't? And then stand in line with each other.

I believe this is due to federal mandates about masks being worn in transportation. Disney would have no control over this.

 

[danlb_2000]

I believe this is due to federal mandates about masks being worn in transportation. Disney would have no control over this.

It's not really clear to me if that is the case since Universal doesn't require masks on their transportation.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

And that never used to be a problem. I have to think we're close to a point where it won't be a problem again.

I stopped park hopping years ago. I rather save the money and aggravation. Then again we have kids so our park strategy has changed over the years. The only park I would want to is maybe Epcot at night so a 2pm rule doest really matter.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I stopped park hopping years ago. I rather save the money and aggravation. Then again we have kids so our park strategy has changed over the years. The only park I would want to is maybe Epcot at night so a 2pm rule doest really matter.

I dont park hop but I used to like the ability to be able to get into any park of my choice on any given day...

 

[JAB]

For us, the current hopping rules are really the main thing left that is going to make our upcoming trip feel different.

For the first 4 or 5 days of our trip, the park reservations and the 2pm hopping rule likely won't have an impact, as we're planners, so we already know what park we will rope drop and be in for most of each day. However, part of being a good planner is knowing that you can't plan for everything, so where the current hopping rules will have an effect is on the last few days of our trip, which are simply planned as "misc." catch-all days for anything we weren't able to do or things we want to do again. On these days in the past, we'd often hit three parks, rope dropping one park for a popular ride, or for something we want to ride several times before there's a line, then off to another park for the late morning/early afternoon, and then wrapping up the day at a third park for the afternoon/evening. The park passes and 2pm hopping limit make this tough because you're committing to one park for 5 hours until you can hop, even if you only wanted to rope drop a ride or two there, and you have to commit to a park well in advance despite the fact that you won't necessarily know where you might want to go until the day before.

 

[rct247]

please elaborate, if you can, about the changes in rider switching policies. We are talking about ---to say it crudely__ "baby swap", right?

Good for up to 2 instead of 3 people now. Also, if you have part of your group with LL and the others not trying to save money, they ask the people without LL to do the waiting and those with the LL use that as their rider switch. Sort of the same if everyone has a LL. The only will issue the rider switch for the person re-riding. The person that hadnt used theirs yet will just use their LL. They are also stricter with asking for the people not tall enough to ride to be present and watching the people enter the line the first time.

There has been too many people use it to cheat not waiting in lines.

 

[Married5Times]

very solid explanation,
thanks