Disney World is finally open again and I finally got to go to the parks this weekend! I managed to snap a reservation for my sisters birthday at Epcot. As excited as I was to go back, I’m overall extremely disappointed with the annual pass situation. Besides the fact that they charged me over $300 at the beginning of the month, they’ve fallen short in many other areas for passholders. One of those areas is how limited the access is for passholders. I do understand that as a passholder I am not their major money maker. However, I am their consistent money maker. But this post is not a roast on the annual situation. I wanted to share my favorite Mickey Mouse shorts that I wore when I went back as well as a little insight to what the parks are like now. If you just want to know about the safety precautions Disney World is taking, click here to jump down.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you I may make a commission if you click through and purchase.
The Original Mickey Mouse Shorts
Many people have seen and fallen in love with the embroidered Mickey Mouse shorts. They were originally released by Zara literally forever ago. By the time I became an annual passholder, they were no longer sold, anywhere. I’m talking Poshmark, Ebay, literally no where had these Zara shorts. When they did appear for resale they were grossly overpriced. There was no way I was going to pay over $100 for a pair of already used shorts. I started to give up hope finding the original shorts and looked into making my own with Disney embroidered patches…The cost for a pair of shorts and 20+ patches though was almost as much as the resale shorts.
The Cheaper Alternative to Zara Mickey Mouse Shorts
While searching across ebay one day for these Zara Mickey Mouse shorts I stumbled upon another pair of embroidered shorts. These were almost identical to the original shorts at a fraction of the cost. At such a great price with little to no appearance difference, I quickly clicked the listing. It was from a company in China. Being weary of the sizing, I made sure to check the measurements carefully. Though with the price, I was willing to take the risk of them not fitting. Luckily they fit great and I’ve been wearing them on many trips to Disney since!
Disney World Re-Opening
Even though I’m disappointed with how Disney has decided to handle annual passes, they have put in the work to make Disney World a safe environment for everyone. I wanted to just walk through a few of the precautions they have implemented.
- Temperature Check – Before entering the park a cast member will take your temperature. There was concern at how long this would take but I assure you it takes less time than any bag check.
- Mandatory Mask – While wearing a mask all day is not appealing (or enjoyable) it’s a necessary sacrifice to go to Disney. Unfortunately, some people didn’t want to follow the rules and claimed they were drinking while walking and thus didn’t need a mask on. Now Disney is taking extra precaution and you are only allowed to eat or drink while standing or sitting. No more eating and walking simultaneously.
- Limited Capacity – I believe that Disney World parks are operating at about 30% capacity (last I read). All I have to say on that is, it is pretty darn empty. All rides have a 30min or less wait time, which is ah-maz-ing.
- Social Distancing – All lines have markers indicating 6ft distances. For the most part, parties waiting in line complied with the markers but it’s easy to fall back into old Disney ways of filling in all available space. As well as lines, tables for eating have been marked off or spread apart properly.
To learn more about what Disney World is doing to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at their parks, click here.
Tips for Annual Passholders
After hours on the phone, and multiple visits to Disney Springs I’ve determined that, no one at Disney is very helpful right now, especially to annual passholders. If you are an annual passholder in the area and your pass has not been extended, even though you requested it, there’s nothing anyone can do. We’ve been told to wait patiently as they are still updating a ton of passholder passes. However, if you are going with someone else who has a reservation I’d recommend going to see guest services. They might be able to offer some magic and get your one person into the park. Sadly, I’m sure this is not a universal rule. However, the worst they can say is no. Right?
