Disney reopens with new magical moments

BY MICHELLE SPITZER

After a shutdown of nearly four months in 2020, Walt Disney World in Orlando reopened last July with new procedures in place. The updated health and safety protocols were obvious — hand-sanitizing dispensers, social distancing markers, mask requirements and more — but the newly sprinkled pixie dust has resulted in quite a few suprises. >

Tara Anderson, show director with Disney Parks Live Entertainment, is on the team tasked with keeping the magic alive in the Mouse House.

“I was excited about the possibilities,” she says. “I didn’t want to focus so much on what I couldn’t do. I wanted to focus on what I could do.”

What Anderson and her team could do is give guests a new kind of magic they weren’t expecting. Magic that still entertains, delights and most importantly, makes memories.

“I don’t think the magic is gone,” she says. “The magic has just taken a different form. Guests are still interacting with Mickey every day. It’s a little different right now, and the time will come when we’ll go back to hugging. That’s the goal.”

When guests see Goofy, Donald or the princesses, it’s never announced, so crowds do not gather. But pretty frequently you’ll hear music playing through loudspeakers, and all of a sudden Buzz Lightyear will be driven out in a special Toy Story-themed car; or Gaston, of Beauty and the Beast, will appear on a horse galloping through the Magic Kingdom.

Also gone are the long lines to spend a few minutes chatting with Belle, Cinderella or Elena. Instead, the princesses also ride in cavalcades or appear on the platform above the entrance to Main Street. They will chat with guests below and converse with their adoring fans.

“It allows them to engage with the guests on different levels,” Anderson says. “Sometimes you actually want to talk back, and sometimes you just want to watch them talk to someone else. That’s enjoyable as well.”

Making this new experience come together required the collaboration of scene designers, musical directors, casting coordinatorss and plenty of other team players. They are constantly brainstorming new ways to surprise visitors. At times, they want guests to feel as if a scene from a Disney movie is unfolding right before them.

“We’re so used to people dancing together, and it’s like, ‘How do we >

dance together, but we don’t touch each other?’” Anderson says. “That was challenging, but ultimately I’m very happy with what we came up with. I think it’s fun. I think guests enjoy it and if they want to dance along that’s all good, too.”

Helping enhance the guest experience is the low capacity mandates. Parks are using a reservation system, which results in fewer crowds and makes simply walking through the park easier and less congested. Most attractions barely have wait times, although, some of the most popular attractions may.

Mobile ordering is now available at even more restaurants. While finishing up a Pirates of the Caribbean ride or walking through the queue for Splash Mountain, you can use your smartphone to place an order for a DOLE Whip at Aloha Isle. The process is virtually contact-free and quick, allowing more time to enjoy the attractions. l

— Michelle Spitzer writes for Florida Today.