Posted by
Mike and Chris Pettey
on September 1, 2020
Category:
Trip Reports
Tags:
Animal Kingdom
Epcot
Hollywood Studios
Magic Kingdom
Universal Orlando
The Mouse Lists team made a trip to Florida during August 2020, and we’re happy to share this special post with you! Our trip consisted of 7 days at various Walt Disney World resort parks and attractions, as well as 3 days at Universal Orlando Resort. You can read dozens of “Trip Reports” elsewhere online, so that’s not what we’re going to do here. Instead, we will focus on ranking various features from our trip. Because EVERYTHING must be ranked!
We’ll get this out of the way first: Our experience was extremely positive overall. Our flights felt safe, comfortable, and clean. The parks were joyfully uncrowded, and Cast Members were consistent with their enforcement of social distancing practices and guidelines. We’d guess that 99% of guests were adhering to the rules as well, among the best compliance we’ve seen in any public place this year. While going to Disney right now isn’t for everyone, we truly believe there is a safe and smart way to visit theme parks in 2020.
Let’s jump in.
This was our first trip to Orlando in over two years, so we had a lot to catch up on. New rides and attractions were in no shortage. In some cases we had entire new sections of the park to explore. In other cases (like Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios) sections of the park were almost unrecognizable.
Top 5 New Attractions (spoiler free)
The headliner attraction in Toy Story Land is the Slinky Dog Dash coaster, which we found to be an absolute joy. Thrilling enough to pack a punch, but tame enough to be inclusive of the entire family. This one really surprised us, and is far from the “kiddie coaster” many have branded it.
While we had been on the California version, there is nothing quite like stepping into the infamous ship and piloting it through a galactic adventure. The ride is more or less Star Tours on steroids, and that’s quite a compliment.
It’s hard to imagine a better ride based on the head Mouse himself. This ride uses fantastic cutting-edge technology with both the vehicles and the props, along with an earworm of a theme song. There is so much going on that the re-rideability is off the charts. Fantastic.
Our team has been on over 300 roller coasters across the world, and this is definitely in the Top 20. Everything about this one is perfect from ground-hugging g-forces to multiple launches, to the surprises we won’t spoil here. Throw in animatronics based on one of the greatest IPs of all time, and Hagrid’s is as near-perfect as any roller coaster could ever be.
As with Millenium Falcon, we’d been on the California version of this attraction multiple times, but it never ceases to impress. This is not a ride, it’s an experience, and from start to finish, you are smack in the middle of a full-blown Star Wars adventure. There are enough “how did they do that” moments in here to keep this one a must-do attraction for years to come. It’s simply the best new attraction in Orlando.
It’s no secret that in 2020 there have been a lot of operational changes in the parks – both temporary and permanent. Parades, fireworks, and shows have been put on hiatus. The parks are operating on reduced hours. Some food outlets are completely closed. While we were aware of many of these going in, there were still some big surprises to us – some good, and some, well, not so positive.
Top 5 Unanticipated Surprises
Starting out with a positive surprise, this pre-show has been drastically shortened from its prior version, which was just way too long and borderline annoying. Here’s to hoping that they stick with this abridged version permanently, as it keeps the adventure moving along in a very positive way.
It was fantastic to board a ferry or monorail to Magic Kingdom without having to wait in a long line. It’s always been such a chore to get to this park, and while we like the majestic way of getting there via either method, it always means waiting for several cycles before its your turn. Just jumping on the first monorail or ferry and heading to the park was fantastic.
We’re sort of cheating here, because we had heard about these prior to our visit. The random mini-parades featuring a moving vehicle and a few characters always put a smile on our faces, and really brought a touch of much-needed magic to the parks. Some relatively obscure characters were seen from time to time as well, which was an added plus!
It was a real drag to have to walk through various pre-shows that have been temporarily removed. Haunted Mansion with no elevator room? Test Track with no design stations? And we never even got to see the proper pre-show for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. We didn’t like the lack of pre-shows and can’t wait for them to return.
While there were still plenty of food outlets too choose from (some pictured here), too many of the popular locations were shuttered altogether. It probably was a bonus for our waistline, but we’re not on vacation to diet. This was most noticeable in all of the Disney parks, except Animal Kingdom. Final note: no School Bread available in Norway should be a punishable crime.
On that note, we were still able to eat a lot of great food during our visit. Disney and Universal have some great eats, and many are not always the most popular offerings. Both resorts also have some incredible themed spaces, which only adds to the food experience. We sampled dozens of different items during our trip, and while we can’t comment on every menu item, here are our overall favorite places we ate at. We will stick to in-park eateries (though you really should try out Cowfish).
Top 5 in-park Dining Experiences
This one gets the most points for theming, as there’s nothing quite like dining in an indoor space themed to the outdoors. Sci-Fi Drive in Diner has about what you’d expect on the menu with burgers, fries, and shakes, but it’s the overall experience of watching corny 60’s sci-fi movie highlights in a convertible car that makes this worth doing.
Pandora’s most popular eatery is not only a fantastic themed space, but it offers some of Animal Kingdom’s most creative and delicious eats. We’re love the bowls which are highly customizable, and tried several different versions during our trip. And it’s hard not to get wrapped up in the adventure as you dine in the valley of Mo’ara.
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved.
Another Animal Kingdom eatery, we are big fans of this place, which like the rest of the park, is rich with theming and details. The food is fantastic, with several different offerings from around the Asian continent including curries, dumplings, and bowls. This may be the most difficult menu to choose from at Disney World, as it offers food worthy of existing even outside a theme park.
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved.
One of our favorite “secrets” of the Disney Parks is the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.), and the Skipper Canteen is one of the focal points of this organization within all of Walt Disney World. We always spend time browsing the books, photos, and artifacts, finding new evidences of their adventures. For us, it’s the best treasure hunt in the world. The food at Skipper Canteen is fantastic as well, offering something unique and different for Magic Kingdom, which has far too much standard theme park fare.
We’re huge Harry Potter fans, and being able to grab some food at the Leaky Cauldron at the start of our journey into the wizarding world is an absolute blast. There are fantastic details all throughout the establishment, creating a true sense of place that feels authentic and lived in. The food is true to its British roots, the Butterbeer flows from the tap, and the Butterbeer Potted Cream is the most sinfully delicious dessert in Orlando.
There is a massive amount of construction going on in the parks right now. While some projects will no doubt be delayed, and others possibly canceled all together, there are many that have resumed construction. Even during our trip, we saw several crews working hard around the resorts and moving forward with many of these new rides, shows, and attractions. It’s still a very exciting time to be an Orlando theme park fan!
Top 5 most anticipated new attractions (spoiler free)
We’ve been on the Paris version of this attraction, and while it is too heavy on the screens, it’s still great fun. We will miss the Bistro Chez Remy restaurant, but the Paris pavilion makes up for that with the rest of it’s incredible food scene, as well as the new crepe restaurant that will open with the ride.
We loved IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, so this one has some huge shoes to fill. Disney knows this too. We are very excited based on the backstage photos we’ve seen of the massive structures being built for this new show at Epcot. An injection of IP shouldn’t hurt as long as it is done in a classy way.
This one is far from completed, but the track layout looks fantastic. And the rockwork and theming that are just starting to take shape are extremely promising. Universal really took the coaster experience to the next level with Hagrid’s, and we are optimistic they will keep that momentum with this one as well.
Here’s another import – this one from Shanghai Disneyland – and rest assured that this one lives up to the hype. Fast and thrilling, it’s got a “coolness” factor that is unmatched on any other attraction we’ve ever been on. Expect consistent 4+ hour waits for this one for some time.
We’d don’t know much about this attraction other than it is a “story” roller coaster in the same vein as Hagrid’s, and it is taking up an incredible amount of space. The show building is so big that one can’t help but wonder what kind of adventures will be going on inside. We’re big GOTG fans, so this one has us drooling.
That about wraps up our post, and we hope you enjoyed it. For us it was a fantastic trip that reassured us that the Disney magic is alive and well in the world. We’re looking forward to our next Disney adventure, and will be there to share it with you every step of the way!
Written by
Mike and Chris Pettey
YOUR THOUGHTS?
Have you been to any of the parks in Orlando since they re-opened? What did you think of your visit? What were your highlights and lowlights? Agree or disagree with our lists? Let us know in the comments!
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