What's it Like to Visit Walt Disney World Right Now?

Walt Disney World is pretty much back to normal in many ways. Masks are a thing of the past. In fact, we felt like the only guests wearing masks at all. We still required a negative Covid test to board a plane home, so we had to be extra careful (although this mandate for Canada is set to expire on April 1, 2022). It's very rare to see a mask on guests at Walt Disney World, except on monorails and buses, where they are still required (although we feel that this mandate won't be here for much longer.

As Walt Disney World continues to emerge from the pandemic, there are still some things that are catching up. For example, there are not boats running from Disney's Contemporary Resort. This is because Disney World lost a large number of boat captains over the pandemic and they are currently trying to hire and train new captains as quickly as possible. On a related note, we were told that the SeaRaycer mini speedboats would not be back. Apparently, the boats sat around for too long over the pandemic and simply got gummed up and required too much service to make the fleet worth keeping. We don't believe they will be replaced based on our discussions with Disney Cast Members.

Is Lightning Lane Better than FastPass+?

In short, no.

Disney's Genie + and Lightning Lane make visiting the parks at Walt Disney World much more challenging and frustrating versus previous methods of FastPass and FastPass+. We share full details in the episode, along with some tips and tricks for how to make the most of the current Lightning Lane and Individual Lightning Lane.

Disney World Rides and Attractions Continue to Experience Downtime

Consistent with what we had been hearing before this visit, many Disney rides and attractions continue to experience more downtime than was previously "normal" for Walt Disney World. Once again, we believe that this is due to staffing challenges and hopefully this will be remedied once Walt Disney World returns to more robust Cast Member staffing levels.

This was particularly noticeable on things like the Disney Vacation Club Moonlight Magic Special Event. When you only have three hours in a park (in this case, Epcot), having Ratatouille down and Spaceship Earth down and Frozen Ever After experiencing issues etc., it's not a good thing. It led to longer lines at the few attractions that were open and overall was a poor experience as a result.

In other Disney Travel News...

Connections Café Will Be the New Home of Starbucks at EPCOT

This spring, Connections Café will become the new home of Starbucks at EPCOT. Like other Starbucks locations throughout Walt Disney World Resort, this Starbucks will be designed to fit the theme of its surroundings.

To make way for Starbucks to move to its new location in World Celebration, Traveler’s Café in World Showcase will close this spring. 

As of March 16, face coverings are now optional for fully vaccinated guests on the Disney Skyliner. Face coverings will also be optional for fully vaccinated guests on Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.

At this time, face coverings remain required by all Guests (ages 2 and up) on monorails and Disney buses.

Thank You for Listening to the Disney Travel Podcast

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Thank you for listening and have a magical day!

Mike Belobradic and Amelia Belobradic

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