We’re here to share a BIG Disney World update!
Toy Story Land
Since the parks reopened last summer, Disney World has been operating at a limited capacity. This ensures that all guests are able to uphold Disney’s health and safety procedures as best as possible, especially social distancing. Park capacity has increased since the reopening, from 25% to 35% back in November. And today, we learned that park capacity is increasing again!
During the Quarterly Earnings Call, CEO of the Walt Disney Company Bob Chapek announced that Disney has “already started to increase our capacities.” He specified that these increases are in line with guidance by both the CDC and the Florida government.
Animal Kingdom
Chapek did not clarify what the new capacity percentage was — or even state outright that it was above the previous 35% threshold — but he did vaguely explain that there would be “an immediate increase in the number of folks that we’re able to admit into our parks through our reservation system.” We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as an exact number is announced.
EPCOT
We saw crowds increase during spring break, and Disney has continued making changes to ensure smooth-running operations in relation to the number of guests visiting the parks. For example, plexiglass barriers have been added to many attractions to allow more guests to ride at one time.
Wet Plexiglass on Frozen Ever After
What does this increase mean for the return of services like FastPass+? As park capacity increases, naturally, so will wait times for attractions. Although wait times can be reasonably short on quiet days, they can sometimes quite long when the parks are busy. Will Disney have to make more changes to combat the effect of more guests on wait times? We’ll have to wait and see.
FastPass Kiosk in Epcot’s Future World
This idea can also be applied to Mobile Order dining. Since most counter service locations are all but requiring Mobile Order, we’ve seen really significant wait times to retrieve food orders. For a service that once made ordering your food quicker, it’s possible that guests might find themselves waiting even longer as capacity increases.
Mobile Order Station
Disney has already begun its return to “normal” in other ways, from changes to its mask policy to the phased elimination of temperature checks. We’ll be sure to provide more updates as they become available, so check back with us!
Read About Disney’s Elimination of Temperature Checks
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Increasing capacity! How about giving a little? More restaurants, fireworks, parades, and easier access to phone lines. I called last week for a question about our upcoming reservation and it was a 110 minite wait! REALLY!! Disney wants us to come, but what are they giving for our money??
I’m with you Sherry, I have a trip planned for this Summer and I hope a few things come back online by then, mainly Fastpass+!!!! Souvenir drop-off would be nice also, but I can see that as a benefit in preventing me from buying too much merch as I am not going to carry it around with me.