We Visited All Four Reopened Disney World Theme Parks: Here's What It Was Like

Walt Disney World reopened all four theme parks this week after a nearly four-month closure. The Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom opened on July 11 and EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios opened on July 15.

With reduced capacity, extensive new health and safety protocols, and modified entertainment offerings, Disney World's theme parks look and feel quite a bit different, but the "Most Magical Place on Earth" still delivers. We checked out all four parks this week. Take a look.

Walt Disney World's approach to keeping the parks safe for guests and cast members centers on increased cleaning and sanitization, physical distancing, and reduced contact. All guests must undergo a temperature screening and any guest with a temperature of 100.4 or higher will be rescreened. If the guest's temperature remains above 100.4, they will be not be allowed to enter, nor will the rest of their party.

Disney World has implemented a number of procedures aimed at minimizing needless contact. First up, guests no longer have to have their fingerprints scanned at the park entrance. Other touch-free approaches include Online Check-In at the resorts, allowing guests to bypass the front desk and unlock their door with their phone or MagicBand, Mobile Dine Check-In and digital menus at restaurants, and Mobile Order at quick-service dining locations.

Guests are so strongly encouraged to use the Mobile Order function on their My Disney Experience app that they are no longer permitted to enter quick-service dining locations without a confirmed order and an alert that it's ready for pick-up. Cast Members stationed at restaurant entrances will direct guests to a number pick-up station to collect their order. Exceptions are made for guests needing the free ice water still provided at quick-service locations and in some cases for guests with allergies or those needing to pay with cash.

All guests over the age of 2 and Cast Members must wear an approved face covering at all times while in any public spaces at Disney World except when dining, swimming or in designated "Relaxation Zones" within the theme parks. Masks must have ear loops or ties, cover the nose and mouth, and fit snugly to the sides of one's face-no bandanas or gaiters allowed. Many Cast Members also wear face shields along with their masks. Guests are also permitted to wear face shields in addition to, but not instead of masks. Guests are permitted to remove masks when eating or drinking but must be stationary and maintaining physical distance from other parties.

Hand Sanitizer stations are positioned at every ride entrance and exit, as well as at all retail and dining locations.

Ride vehicles are cleaned, on average, every two hours. Depending on the type of ride, you may hear an announcement while you're waiting in line that the ride is being paused for cleaning. These delays are typically brief.

It was a big surprise when Disney announced that the FastPass+ system, which allows guests to reserve a time for a ride or attraction and bypass the standby line, would be suspended and all guests would have to wait in the standby lines for all attractions except Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (more on that next). Concerns about long wait times in standby queues were largely allayed once the parks opened and we were able to see just how light the crowds are. Many attractions, even some of Disney World's most popular like Flight of Passage and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, are walk-ons at many times during the day.

To support physical distancing, all ride queues have distance markers on the ground that guests must follow to maintain a safe distance from other parties. We found that in most cases guests did a great job complying with this, even when it meant they were stuck out in the rain!

To further protect guests, particularly when 6-foot distancing isn't possible in queue areas, plexiglass dividers have been added to many queues.

Disney's reasoning for suspending FastPass+ is to use the lengthier standby queue space for physical distancing between guests as they wait. This has been a fun opportunity for guests like me who normally stick to the FastPass lines to check out all of the elaborate theming intended to keep guests entertained while they want in the standby queue. Interactive features and hands-on play areas in queues like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh have been roped off, but the lines move so quickly that you won't miss them.

One of Disney World's newest and most high-profile attractions, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, is using a virtual queue to manage demand and avoid overcrowding in the queue. Guests must be inside the park to attempt to join the virtual queue using the My Disney Experience app. Boarding groups are released at 10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm.

Quite a few rides have had their preshows modified or eliminated to avoid having guests congregate in one place. This means you'll miss some iconic scenes, like the Stretching Room in Haunted Mansion, which guests now just quickly walk through. Some good news though: All preshows on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, which are integral to the ride's story, remain intact.

Loading procedures have been modified on many rides to create more space between parties. Rows are left empty between groups on most coasters and boat rides, like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Pirates of the Caribbean. Rides like Test Track and Splash Mountain are now limited to one party per ride vehicle. Some rides, like Soarin' and Star Tours, also have plexiglass between some seats to further separate parties.

Character meet and greets have been temporarily suspended, but we found that you actually end up seeing MORE characters over the course of your day now. Disney has replaced character meet and greets and scheduled parades with impromptu Character Cavalcades like the Royal Princess Processional down Main Street.

At Disney's Animal Kingdom, character cavalcades cruise down Discovery River. Listen for the music and you'll know to look down at the water to spot favorite characters like Mickey and Minnie, Pocahontas and Meeko, and some of the gang from Donald's Dino-Bash, which used to take place over in DinoLand, U.S.A.

Undoubtedly the most striking change for anyone who's visited Disney World in recent years is crowd reduction. Six months ago, it was unimaginable to see Magic Kingdom's Main Street, U.S.A. so sparsely populated - at any time of day.

Disney has limited capacity so dramatically that it's now possible to snag previously impossible photos of iconic spots wholly devoid of other guests, like the majestic Millennium Falcon, the centerpiece of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

Guests needing to take a mask break while at the parks have two options: Order some food or a drink and take a break while stationary or visit one of the park's Relaxation Stations. Guests are directed to a physically distanced table or dot on the floor and they are permitted to remove their face covering. Every park offers an indoor, air-conditioned option in addition to outdoor zones.

Walt Disney World's modes of transportation, which includes buses, the monorail, the Disney Skyliner, water taxis, and ferry boats, have been modified to support distance between parties. For example, the Skyliner now limits capacity to one party per gondola and monorail cabins are limited to a maximum of two parties per cabin.

Many Disney World visitors rely on the buses for transportation between the parks and resorts. Buses are now divided into six numbered sections and dividers have been added and seats are blocked off to help with distancing. Parties are assigned to a numbered section. While this greatly reduces overall bus capacity, because the capacity in the parks and resorts is also reduced, we didn't find that this significantly impacted wait times. Disney does recommend that guests allow extra time for travel though so plan accordingly.

To the surprise and delight of many, EPCOT's beloved Food & Wine Festival has returned early this year. The festival typically begins in late August and runs through the fall. This year, the fest has been renamed the Taste of EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival and incorporates some of the booths and offerings from the spring's EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, which was cut short by the park's closure in March.

One big change to the Disney World planning process is that guests must now secure a Disney Park Pass reservation in order to visit one of Disney World's four theme parks. Guests are able to consult an availability calendar prior to booking to ensure there is availability on the dates they plan to visit.

Disney has suspended the ability for guests to "park hop" for the time being. This means guests are only able to visit one park per day. During the initial reopening period, we found that low crowds, short lines, and just one park per day have meant it's been very easy to accomplish everything we wanted to in one day - typically with time to spare.

Of domestic travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC states, "COVID-19 cases and deaths have been reported in all 50 states, and the situation is constantly changing. Because travel increases your chances of getting infected and spreading COVID-19, staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting sick."

The decision to travel to Disney World right now is one each family will need to make for themselves. Disney's safety precautions and guidelines might feel more comprehensive than those seen in many other public spaces, but there is an inherent risk to any public outing currently. For those families that do choose to travel to Disney World during this time, Disney's Cast Members are going above and beyond to make the experience feel as magical as it always has.