It’s no surprise that in the time of COVID, a lot of things have changed, but it’s also no surprise that people are ready and willing to get back to normal. I know that I was one of those people, so right after Christmas, my mom and I took a trip to sunny Florida to get away from it all for a while. We knew COVID was still an issue, but with the emerging Omicron and rising cases, we knew that trips might once again become impossible. We were vaccinated and my mom was recently boosted, so we grabbed our masks, loaded up, and headed out.
Disney and Universal both have masking policies. You do not have to wear them in the park if you’re outside, but you MUST wear them in all buildings and in all queues and rides, regardless of vaccination status. The employees at the parks aren’t shy about enforcing the policy either. I saw a couple of people get thrown out of a building because they wouldn’t put one on, and several times I heard staff ask someone to put it on who’d forgotten or simply thought it wouldn’t be enforced.
Universal sells cloth face masks, which, while they aren’t recommended as the best protection, at least serve to meet the basic requirements. At the start of the pandemic, Disney sold masks in the parks and at Disney Springs, but currently don’t anymore; however, they do online. At the parks and Disney Springs–which is essentially a Disney-themed strip mall open to anyone, ticket or not, they do sell the blue surgical masks. The masks are $1.25 which serves as a friendly reminder to bring a mask or pay the price of buying one there.
Another major change right now is that for Disney, you not only must purchase a ticket, but you have to make a park reservation for the day you wish to attend the park. You can’t enter one of the four parks at Disney World without a reservation, even if you bought a ticket. For instance, if you plan to go to the Magic Kingdom, you must purchase a ticket for the date you wish to attend and then select a reservation spot for the park. Once you have the reservation, you can come and go all day as you please, no new purchase is necessary.
At the moment, Lightning Lane, which allows faster entry into some rides and attractions, seems hit or miss. For instance, we were allowed early entry into Hollywood Studios due to staying at a Disney Resort and headed to Galaxy’s Edge. It’s important to note that anyone staying at a Disney Resort can utilize the early access for whatever park they are planning to go to. When we arrived, the Millennium Falcon ride was at a wait time of 20 minutes, but with Lightning Lane, you had to reserve a spot, which wasn’t until 2:30 that afternoon! We chose to wait it out and just go in the normal line. It didn’t even take 15 minutes to actually get to the ride and was a much better experience than waiting. Lightning Lane would be worth it, however, for something like Rise of The Resistance which was already at a 160 minute wait time at 8:00 am.
The reservation ticketing system at Disney allows for a much more relaxed experience. Even though our day was one of the completely booked up days, it didn’t feel crowded. You could move around without being too close to other people, and you didn’t feel like you were being shoved along by crowds. However, Universal is a different experience.
Universal simply requires a ticket to the park or parks to enter, meaning that unless the park’s capacity is reached, anyone can buy a ticket and get in on any day. Universal felt a lot more crowded and uncomfortable. The employees areas on top of the mask policy as Disney, but line and store capacities made it harder to distance from people. It’s worth noting that Universal also requires masks on rides, but on certain rides, such as the River Adventure in Jurassic Park, you are allowed to remove your mask so that you don’t almost accidentally drown yourself when the giant wave of water comes at you.
Some might argue that masking takes away from the experience, but I don’t believe so. At this point in the pandemic, we’re so used to masking that it feels almost normal. It’s nice to shop in Disney Springs without worrying about other people breathing on you, and it didn’t take away from any of the magic. Overall, if you’re planning a trip and want a more relaxed experience, I would go with Disney. The parks are less crowded due to the reservation system and everything feels more well-controlled than Universal, which is great for people coming to Disney World to celebrate the theme park’s 50th anniversary. This anniversary started Oct. 1, 2021, and will last until April 2023.
Jeri Hensley
Managing Editor