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When I visited the Magic Kingdom for the Annual Passholder preview, I was delighted with how Walt Disney World implemented social distancing measures on the attractions. No, I am not being sarcastic.
While standing six feet behind the person in front of you makes the line appear significantly longer, and you realize why Disney only admits so many people at a time.
But rather than appearing unnatural and awkward or inciting more paranoia, Disney’s social distancing techniques fit naturally into the queues and better your experience. They give you something you don’t usually get in line for personal space.
Yes, I would dare to say social distancing at Disney World makes your Disney day better than before. The social distancing and the associated reservations make the experience appear more personal and exclusive.
Let me give you an example.
Picture, if you will:
You’ll be waiting 30 minutes for Splash Mountain, but you have nobody immediately around you while you wait. You have a bubble of personal space surrounding you and the people with whom you came to the theme Park. Every time the line moves, you don’t just hurry up a few baby steps like before. You automatically move up six feet to the next marker on the floor.
When you get to the boarding area, you and your party of four or more have never had a better chance to get the entire log to yourselves which means–more importantly–no strangers in your picture.
If you go off by yourself and ride Space Mountain, no one else will be in the vehicle with you, guaranteeing your ride picture.
Seating for shows like The Enchanted Tiki Room is also more spacious, thanks to social distancing. You are no longer crammed next to other sweaty Guests. You have room spread out and get comfortable.
Read More: Further Disney Attraction Changes Revealed on AP Preview Day
This is your new reality, and it is one of the best changes to ever happen to Walt Disney World, in my opinion. Before the changes, Guests would have to get lucky to get such treatment, sacrifice watching Happily Ever After, or run to get on at extremely early or late times of the day. Now, it is a commonplace and bound to be taken for granted.
The only uncomfortable part is still having to wear the mask. (I will comply and wear the masks properly, but it is just foolish to honestly think that wearing a piece of cloth over your nose and mouth in the Florida summer heat won’t take its toll.)
However, there is one ride that I’m not sure about, and that is Jungle Cruise.
Don’t get me wrong, next to Space Mountain. Jungle Cruise is my favorite ride at Magic Kingdom. If you get the right skipper, it is a perfect ride; you can literally live your own adventure comedy movie.
But we had to keep our masks on while aboard the boat. The masks do two things detrimental to the Skippers: 1) They hide that smile you can’t help but have on your face as a Guest, and 2) they silence your voice. On top of this, the boat was only half full. So often, the Skippers will feed off of passengers for interactions during the ride, but the mask didn’t let us give him much. Our poor skipper was throwing out zingers only to be looking back at five people giving him crickets. I even tried to laugh a little extra loud to help him out. It was still enjoyable, though.
As for the queues, Disney has placed markers for Guests to stand on, and it is very easy to follow. Just be careful not to advance to the next marker before the party in front of you gets to their next one. Otherwise, you can awkwardly ask everybody behind you to move back six feet. Nobody makes you feel bad for the blunder, but be patient and don’t be that guy.
Oh, and one more thing, you must keep your masks on while experiencing all attractions. Trust me. These pictures will have legitimate historical significance when everything returns to normal.
Related: WDW Takes Social Distancing Precautions on Transportation
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Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this review do not necessarily reflect the views of Inside the Magic overall.