Summer blazes on in Florida with scorching temps, a dash of rain, and plenty of (sweaty) Disney fun to be had. Want to know what the experience of visiting a Disney park is like in 2020? We spent the day at Magic Kingdom Park yesterday, September 8th, and are sharing details on the trip. A day at the park can still be a blast (we had no shortage of joy filled moments), but its worth knowing what hurdles you’ll need to manage in your next visit.
Weather
Is it September down here? You’d be remiss in visiting a Disney park without first taking serious stock of the weather conditions. Temperatures crossed the 90-degree Fahrenheit mark for much of the midday, and the humidity was real. At approximately 4:30 PM, the skies opened up with an angry torrential rain that lasted over 45 minutes. The rain blissfully cooled things down for the rest of the evening, closing out the day with comfortable temperatures.
Ride Wait Times and Crowds
All the buzz has been about just how empty Walt Disney World has been in the last few months. Coulda fooled us. Wait times were manageable but by no means full-fledged ride walk-on status. Crowds soared in the morning with Splash Mountain at a 60 minute wait and Seven Dwarves Mine Train at a 45 minute wait time for most of the day. While these wait times are lower than expected for typical conditions, they definitely don’t match the “this place is SO empty” vibes everyone has been commenting on.
The day still proved manageable for Walt Disney World vets and adventure seeking newbies who want to do “all the things.” A solid 9 hour day finished our complete Magic Kingdom “ride clean sweep” as crowds died down substantially once the rain kicked off.
Food
Omg – seasonal foods are here! Food offerings are still slim pickings due to COVID related closures, but Fall treats are bringing unique flavors and lots of excitement. Though the new menu items have been tasty and visually appealing, we still couldn’t help leaving hungry for more restaurants options.
Here’s the full list of what Magic Kingdom restaurants were open as of September 8th:
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Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies
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Be Our Guest Restaurant
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Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe
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Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
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Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen
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Liberty Square Market
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Liberty Tree Tavern
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Main Street Bakery
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Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
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Pinocchio Village Haus
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The Plaza Restaurant
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Sleepy Hollow
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Storybook Treats
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Sunshine Tree Terrace
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Tony’s Town Square Restaurant
Several restaurants have opened up “walk-up wait lists” that allow guests to join virtual queue-like restaurant waiting experiences. Snack carts are still extremely limited, and even a simple quest for water took us 20 minutes! Be prepared to grab water and snacks whenever you see ‘em!
Entertainment
Cavalcades are offering the highest production value entertainment in the park at the moment, with several of these unexpected mini parades running all day long. We also found 2 other “meet and greet” character spots too! We wished for more fun “meeting” spots where guests get a chance to have some unique interactions with the characters – but for now we’ll just enjoy watching the cavalcades.
Disney PhotoPass photographers were also difficult to find during the day, but an abundance of photographers could be found on Main Street at 6 PM.
Safety
Mask enforcers roll deep as ever, and we were hard-pressed to find guests breaking the rules for more than a few seconds. The biggest hot spot for mask removal is definitely folks trying to sneak maskless photos in front of the castle. Luckily Disney World is cracking down on those occurrences in a big way, with cast members dedicated to guarding popular photo areas almost full time. We felt safe the entire time we were in the park!
That’s everything you need to know if you’re planning on visiting Magic Kingdom Park in the coming weeks. Even with the minor inconveniences we still loved spending a day strolling down the streets of the happiest place on earth. Let us know what your plans are for upcoming trips in the comments below!
