Traveling has been an ongoing concern for many families since the advent of COVID-19. After six months of being housebound, my family decided that it’d been long enough. We needed to get out and do something. Flights were affordable, so my parents booked one to Florida. 

Our trip for Halloween, a Disney cruise to Mexico, had been cancelled, so we looked into other options that would be safe. The safest place open in Florida was Disney World, which currently allows up to 30% capacity in each park. When we found out our Halloween trip was cancelled, my mom approached the family one night and asked, “Do you want to go to Disney World for Thanksgiving this year? I know this year has sucked for everyone, and we should do something fun together.”

My sister Karlene and I were excited when we heard her proposition. We counted down the days until November 22, 2020, when our flight left for Florida. We arrived outside the airport around 5am, checked our bags, went through security, and walked to our gate. By 6:30 a.m. we were in the air, and 50 minutes later, we landed in Phoenix, Arizona. About an hour later, we boarded our second flight to Florida.

During the flights, we were required to wear a face mask unless we were actively eating or drinking. The flight to Florida was definitely longer than the flight to Phoenix, but around 4:30pm, we arrived in Orlando, Florida, the home of Walt Disney World. 

After picking up our luggage we headed over to the Disney Magical Express. We were seated away from other families until we arrived at the hotel. Our family stayed at Disney’s Pop Century Resort, which ironically aims to take its guests on a nostalgic trip to the past.  Due to the pandemic, the resort wasn’t crowded. We settled in our hotel room and ordered food for breakfast for the rest of the week. Monday, our first day at the Disney Parks, was when things got really fun. 

When we took the bus to Magic Kingdom (a Disney World park) a lot of things had changed since our prior visit. Each of the rides involved lines with 6-foot markings on the ground, and if the ride had a larger seating option like a boat or a train, some seats were entirely blocked off to account for social distancing. With restaurants and dining, orders were done entirely from the Walt Disney World app. When our food was ready, we received a notification. After showing an order number on a phone, we were presented with our meals, similar to pickup at a fast food restaurant. 

The following day, we went to Hollywood Studios. There were 6-foot markings for lines throughout this theme park there as well. Hollywood Studios typically schedules shows throughout the day, but none of them were open during our trip. There were two new rides to experience: Slinky Dog Dash and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Due to attendance restrictions, I was able to ride Slinky Dog Dash three times. While lines looked long, we didn’t stand around much as wait times were deceiving. Our day at Hollywood Studios on their rides was a blast. 

The next place we visited was Epcot. At Epcot, there were different Disney characters throughout the park. We even saw Winnie The Pooh trying to catch some butterflies! Normally, characters would be in groups at certain areas of the park, ready to greet guests and pose for pictures. But because of the social distancing rules, the characters walked around the park instead. There aren’t too many rides at Epcot, as the main event there is the World Showcase, consisting of 11 small “lands” each representing a different country. My sister and I tried a treat from nearly every country. My favorites were Germany, Italy and France. Because of the coronavirus, some souvenir and snack shops were closed, but most everything was open in Epcot.

Though COVID-19 has altered everyone’s routines, our experience at Walt Disney World Parks was largely positive. Though it wasn’t perfect, Disney worked to create an amazing experience for our family.