This is going to sound kind of crazy, kind of logical, but there are several things I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE about some of the latest policy and procedure changes since the re-opening of Walt Disney World and hope they are here to stay! Lucky for you, I’m sharing them here!

1. Mobile Ordering and To-Go

Prior to the closures of March 2020, there was very limited opportunities to mobile order food. Since re-opening in July 2020, Walt Disney World resort has continued to add and even improve mobile ordering for Quick Service locations. I cannot stress enough how beneficial mobile ordering is on your day’s logistics. Make your meal plan while in a queue and boom, you wasted zero time ordering/deciding and can ward off “hangry” family members.

^{Mobile Order Tip: Plan your mobile orders early for things like lunch and dinner Quick Service (snacks not as big of a deal). You have to select a time slot to arrive and pick-up your food and there are only so many slots available for each time. Thus,decide earlier in the day so you can get your first choice of dining times.}

Additionally, they have added features like table service restaurant ordering “TO GO.” This offering is exactly what it sounds like: placing a carry-out order from a table service restaurant. You can even order celebration cakes to go from some locations! (I have personally done this and it’s a wonderful option for a mini-family celebration at WDW!) Have an in-room or picnic meal in a slower paced environment, like in your room or on the resort grounds.

2. 60 Day Dining Reservations

Prior to the closure, planning your Table Service dining experiences at Walt Disney World started 180 days (6 months!!) prior to your arrival date! This sounds crazy, and it kind of is, but it was the way of the ‘World.’ Currently, booking Table Service restaurants for your trips is available beginning 60 days prior to your dining date. If you are a Walt Disney World Resort hotel guest, you may book your dining beginning 60 days prior to your check-in date and may book dining for the entire length of your stay! This means you are able to book all your table service dining for your entire trip before many others are given access. This can be a huge advantage as table service dining can be hard to obtain for the most popular locations (think character dining and fine dining experiences).

I think this is great because it makes it a little less drawn out in the decision and planning process and makes it easier to spend time researching before booking, rather than booking and then changing around over and over (as more time on the front end means more time to over think and change, change, change). People will still drop and change things on the fly but this makes dining a bit less crazy feeling.

3. No Fast Pass

This is going to probably freak out a lot of Walt Disney World old-schoolers but hear me out! My family has traveled to Walt Disney World three times (so far) since the re-opening and have seen and experienced the gradually re-opening process. Even with larger crowds, lines have moved pretty swiftly, regardless of volume of crowds. Sure, there have been some queues that are long and wait times are accurate but overall, the majority of the lines move quickly and remain below pre-closure wait times.

4. Park Pass Reservation System

I understand much of these things I love, especially no FastPass, can be impacted as Walt Disney World Resort brings back more entertainment and more crowds but I believe the Park Pass Reservation System is key in helping balancing out wait times and restaurant availability. Think about this, by booking your Park Pass Reservation, Disney knows exactly which park you will be in and which day and also knows with the current policy you cannot hop to any other park before 2pm (if you have the Hopper). It can better manage crowds for staffing restaurants and attractions. Before the Park Pass Reservation System and with Fast Pass, not everyone used technology and leveraged the FastPass system. Furthermore, many were walking up to order food or hop on a manual wait list. Now we are much more automated and leveraging technology to maximize our time in the parks. Many who are not technology savy may not be a fan of this system but by using the technology we are much more able to spend more time enjoying our family and friends and less time arguing, feeling hangry or being stressed about what to do next, making it to the next Fast Pass across the Park, etc.

Change is hard but in this case, change can be for the better.

If you are interested in obtaining a free, no-obligation quote to travel to the Magic, please contact me.