Late last year Walt Disney World announced that they were increasing their theme park capacity to 35% in light of loosening COVID-19 related restrictions in the state of Florida and increased travel to the resort. And according to a new rumor posted on the WDWMagic forums by multiple sources, it looks like when the resort brought back park hopping on January 1, 2021, they also quietly increased theme park capacity up to 40%.
This change would definitely make sense as Disney has also ended social distancing on several attractions last week to create additional capacity and reduce wait times on popular attractions like Slinky Dog Dash, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and Avatar: Flight of Passage. You can read more about changes to specific attractions here. In addition, guests are also now able to make same-day reservations for parks that are listed as unavailable.
Of course, Walt Disney World is still taking major precautions with regards to the COVID-19 Pandemic, with masks required at all times when not actively eating or drinking, distancing encouraged in queue lines, and limited capacity in restaurants. In addition, almost all live performances in the theme parks have been suspended until further notice and face to face character interactions are not expected to return until much later this year.
In an effort to draw more guests to the theme parks in the coming weeks (which are traditionally the "slow" season for Walt Disney World anyway) Disney has announced a slew of new discounts and deals, which you can check out here. Will you be making plans to visit the resort early this year, or are you still waiting until the COVID-19 Pandemic is more under control?
Comments
Social distancing is definitely still in force on all rides at Disney World. (We went there the last week of February.) That said, lines moved relatively quickly, as they've cut out some storytelling that takes place prior to a ride (think Haunted Mansion, Flight of Passage, etc.)