2020 has changed a lot of things, and Disney World is no exception.
With 2021 on the horizon, it seems like a good time to talk about how Disney World planning has changed for the time being.
If you’re a returning Disney visitor, you’ll see that the way you planned trips in the past is a little different from how you’ll need to plan now.
And if you’re a first time Disney visitor, you may find that a lot of posts and info on Disney World planning just doesn’t apply right now.
With that in mind, here are ten ways Disney World planning is different for 2021.
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No FastPasses
Selecting FastPasses is typically a very special part of Disney World planning.
FastPasses essentially allow you to reserve your spot in line for some of the most popular rides. This gives you a significantly reduced wait time.
In the past, when you were 30 or 60 days out from your trip, you could book three FastPass for each day of your trip.
But for the time being, there aren’t any FastPasses available in Disney World.
This is in part to allow Disney to use the FastPass cues for normal riders so they can social distance, and in part because wait times are often significantly shorter with reduced capacity crowds.
No Dining Plan
In the past, you used to have the option to add a dining plan to your resort vacation package.
The dining plan is basically a way for you to prepay for your meals. (You can read more about the dining plan here!)
I’m a big fan of the dining plan, but right now, it’s not an option Disney is offering.
Shorter Advanced Dining Reservation window
And speaking of dining, you now have a much shorter window to make your advanced dining reservations.
In the past, you used to be able to make your advanced dining reservations for table service locations 180 days before your trip.
Now, you can only make your advanced dining reservations 60 days before the start of your trip.
You need a Park Reservation
And speaking of picking a single park, you also need to book a park reservation in order to get through the gates.
This is in addition to your park ticket. It’s free, and you can make your reservation in the My Disney Experience app.
This means you’ll need to plan which days you intended to be in each park well in advance.
In my experience, you can book your park pass immediately after you book your trip.
Limited park hopping
Under normal circumstances, Disney offered guests a park hopper ticket.
This ticket was priced higher than your standard one-day park ticket and allowed you to visit multiple parks in a single day.
This meant you used to be able to plan to visit 2-4 parks in one day. Basically, you could have breakfast in Epcot and dinner in the Magic Kingdom if you wanted to.
But in an effort to better manage crowds and keep parks at a safe capacity, Disney took park hopping off the table for 2020.
However, starting January 1, 2021, park hopping is returning at a limited capacity.
At the time of writing this, those limitations include only being able to hop to one park and no park hopping until after 2.
You’ll also still need to make a park reservation for the park you plan to start your day in.
For more details and the most up-to-date park hopping information, check out Disney’s website.
You can’t count on dining locations to be open
Dining locations have some odd hours. Some aren’t even opening at all.
And even if a location is opening during this stretch, it might not be open when you’re in the park.
There are some restaurants, counter service locations, and kiosks that are only open on the weekends or other busier days in the parks.
These hours are sporadic and constantly changing, so it can be difficult to count on eating at a specific location right now.
If you like to have an idea of where you’re going to eat before your trip, it’s a good idea to have your first choice and a second and third choice as backups in case your first choice is closed.
Your smartphone is more important than ever
In order to reduce points of contact, Disney has digitized a lot of their operations.
Things like mobile check-in and mobile order are almost a requirement.
They do have cast members who can assist you if you don’t have a smartphone, but if you do, it’s important to plan on using it a lot and keeping it charged.
This may mean finding an outlet at lunch and remember to plug your phone in, or being sure to get a portable charger so you can be sure your phone lasts all day.
You can’t visit resorts like you used to
One pro-tip I used to give out a lot on this blog is that you can visit resorts even if you aren’t staying in them.
Disney resorts are awesome, and full of activities, places to explore, and great restaurants to try.
Visiting other resorts was a great way to spend an arrival day or a day out of the parks.
Unfortunately for right now, this isn’t true anymore.
In an effort to keep head counts under control, you can currently only visit a resort if you’re staying there or if you have an advanced dining reservation.
So if you do want to visit another resort, the only way you can do it is by dining there.
No nighttime shows, parades, or character meets to consider
In an effort to prevent crowds from gathering, Disney as temporarily suspending nighttime shows and parades.
They’re also suspending character meet and greets for the safety of guests and cast members.
As a result, you no longer have to plan or give time to these events.
You can still see some characters though! Disney has “character cavalcades” which are basically unannounced mini-parades that happen regularly throughout the day.
This allows guests the chance to get their character and parade fix, but the announced nature prevents a gathering.
Park hours change constantly
Park hours seem to be changing constantly right now. This could be due to fluctuating crowd sizes or lack of nighttime shows (which makes it less important for the parks to stay open later).
There’s not guarantee this will continue into 2021, but it’s something to be aware of and keep an eye on as you plan your vacation.
This will be especially true as you get closer to your trip.
For more Disney World tips and tricks, check out the other Disney World Posts!
Sound off: Are you currently planning a trip? What are your Disney World Planning 2021 tips? Tell us about it in the comments!